11 a MCDEL Cr^QQl The World and its People A New Series 0/ Geography Readers EUROPE Including the British Isles GEORGE N. MORANG AND CO., LTD. 90 Wellington Street West TORONTO THOMAS NELSON AND SONS London, Edinburgh, and Ne7v York Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Ontario Council of University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/worlditspe05west00toro CONTENTS. 1. A Bird's-Eye View, ... ... ... ... 7 2. The Build of Eukope, ... ... ... ... 10 3. The Countkies of Europe and their Boundaries, ... 15 4. A Coasting Voyage, ... ... ... ... 18 5. In the Baltic Sea, ... ... ... ... ... 24 6. From Hamburg to Southampton, ... ... ... 30 7. From Southampton to the Strait of Gibraltar, ... 35 8. From Gibraltar to Naples,... ... ... .. 40 9. From Naples to Sicily, ... ... ... ... 45 10. From Sicily to Venice, ... ... ... ... 49 11. From Venice to the Ionian Isles, ... ... ... 52 12. From the Ionian Isles to the Dardanelles, ... 57 13. From the Dardanelles round the Black Sea, ... 61 14. The Alps, ... ... ... ... ... ... 65 15. A Little Tour in Switzerland. — I., ... ... 70 16. A Little Tour in Switzerland. — II., ... ... 76 17. The Playground of Europe, ... ... ... 79 18. The Apennines and Italy, ... ... ... ... 83 19. The Eternal City, ... ... ... ... ... 89 20. Some Italian Towns, ... ... ... ... 95 21. La Belle France, ... ... ... ... ... 100 22. In the Country, ... ... ... ... ... 105 23. Some French Towns, ... ... ... ... 110 24. The Gay City, ... ... ... ... ... 115 25. The Iberian Peninsula, ... ... ... . . 121 26. Spanish and Portuguese Towns, ... ... ... 126 VI CONTENTS. 27. The Spaxiaeds at Flay, 28. Productions of the Ieeriax Pexixsula 29. The Balkan Peninsula and Turkey, 30. The Free Balkan States, 31. Greece, 32. The Danube.— I., 33. The Danube.— II., ... 34. The Empire of Austria-Hun 35. "F.vther Rhine." — I., 36. "F.\THER PiHINE."— II., 37. " The Fatherland," 38. Some German Towns, 39. Denmark, 40. "The LANt> of Windmills," 41. In flOLLAND, 42. "The Cockpit of Europe," 43. The Surface of Russia, 44. " Mother Volga," ... 45. " The Czar's Window," 46. Life in Russia, 47. The Scandinavian Peninsula, 48. Sweden, 49. The British Isles, ... 50. Highlands and Lowlands. 51. Scottish TownS; 52. The Surface of Ireland, 53. Irish Towns, Revision Lessons, EUROPE. 1. A BIRDS-EYE VIEW. 1. Last year we studied the geography of our own country, England and Wales. This year we shall cross the " Silver Streak," and give our best atten- tion to the great European continent, of which our islands are only an outlying part. 2. Let us suppose that we have ascended in a balloon, so high that the whole of Europe is spread out below us like a map. What do we see ? We see a great land mass, washed by the ocean on the north, west, and south sides. We notice that the sea runs far into the land, and that the land mass thrusts out to the north, west, and south great rugged peninsulas, something like the arms of a star-fish. 3. If we look towards the east, we find that our continent merges into another still greater land mass, the continent of Asia, and that it is difiicult to say where Europe ends and Asia begins. If we were able to see all Asia as well as Europe, we should 8 A bird's-eye view. notice that Europe was, after all, only a huge penin- sula of the vast land mass which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Europe has little claim to the title of continent, for it is but the west- ern portion of the land mass of Eurasia, and only occupies one-fifth of it. 4. Though Europe scarcely deserves the name of continent, we must consider it as such ; because its history has been quite distinct from that of Asia, and because its people have had a very great influ- ence on the rest of the world. 5. The European peoples are the finest types of mankind. They have led, and they still lead, the way in peace and in war. They have advanced farthest in wisdom, skill, and knowledge. They have journeyed afar to dwell in most of the best lands of the globe, and now the European peoples at home and abroad govern the whole earth. 6. They have found out many of the secrets of nature, and have made the forces of nature their servants. They have invented gunpowder, the mari- ner's compass, the art of printing, the railroad, the steam-engine, the telegraph. They have explored the oceans and distant lands ; they have reared lordly cities, raised noble buildings, written great books, painted wonderful pictures, composed sweet music, and studied the art of healing. 7. For them the negro toils in the cane-brake, the Eskimo chases the seal, the Indian traps fur-bearing animals, the African crushes out his palm-oil, the Chinaman grows his tea, the Kanaka dives for pearls, A BIRDS-EYE VIEW. 9 and the Kafir watches his sheep. To provide the European with all that he wants, most of the other nations are engaged in labour. The raw products which they provide he skilfully works up into manu- factured goods for the use of all men. 8. Though Europe is by far the most important of the great divisions of the earth, yet it is the smallest of all, except Australia. Why has Europe become so EUROPE AS PART OF EURASIA. great ? Why have its peoples left behind all other nations in the race for power and wealth ? Chiefly because they have been active, clever, and ever ready to learn. They have not been content to sit down and wait with folded hands for good things to come to them. They have always been trying hard to im- prove their lot. 9. One of the reasons why Europeans are so active is that the climate of the greater part of Europe is 10 THE BUILD OF EUROPE. temperate and pleasant, without very great heat or very great cold. For the most part, the climate is not so hot as to make men slothful, nor so cold as to numb their power of work. It encourages them to labour ; and in a settled continent like Europe, men must work to live. 10. Another reason why Europe has become so powerful is that ils ecast-line ia longer, compared with its area, than that of any other continent. Great inland seas bring the interior in close touch with the ocean, and multitudes of bays, gulfs, and creeks form harbours and places of safety for ships. By means of the sea, Europe can carry on trade with the rest of the world. This trade brings great wealth to her shores, and by using this wealth wisely she has be- come the greatest of all the continents. 2. THE BUILD OF EUROPE. 1. While we have been considering the greatness of Europe, we have forgotten the bird's-eye view of the Continent spread out before us. As we are still up in our balloon, we must make the most of our lofty position, and try to get a general idea of the build of Europe. 2. Look northwards to the great dog-like peninsula of Scandinavia, which stretches in a southerly direc- tion from the most northerly point of the continent. We see that the greater part of it is occupied by mountains, which only stop at the water's edge and THE BUILD OF EUROPE. 11 frown like huge walls upon the waves of the At- lantic. If we look closely, we can see that these mountains are cleft by thousands of long, narrow gulfs or fjords, which enable the sea to run far into the land. 3. Glancing across the North Sea, we notice these mountains reappearing, though much lower in height, in the west of Britain, in the corners of Ireland, and in the peninsula of Brittany, which France thrusts out between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. 4. Turning our eyes to the southeri? part of the Continent, we at once see another great and still loftier highland region. Away to the south is the leg-shaped peninsula of Italy, which seems to be kicking away the island of Sicily as though it were a football. The Alps, the great mountain system of which we are speaking, curve round the north of this peninsula. They contain some of the loftiest peaks in the Continent, hundreds of miles of gleam- ing glaciers, and thousands of deep, blue lakes. On their slopes rise some of the most important rivers in Europe. 5. A southern offshoot of the Alps provides Italy with its backbone of the Apennine mountains ; and easterly offshoots are connected with the mountains of the Balkan peninsula. The broad table-land which occupies the south of France connects the Alps with the lofty boundary wall of the Pyrenees. Be- yond the Pyrenees is the diamond -shaped Iberian peninsula, washed on three sides by the sea. From 12 THE BUILD OF EUROPE. RELIEF MAP OF EUROPE. the Pyrenees mountain cliains spread out across the Iberian peninsula like the open fingers of the hand. 6. Another highland region can be seen between the Baltic Sea and the Balkan peninsula. This con- sists of the wooded Carpathians, which sweep round in a semicircle to shelter a broad plain lying between them and the Alps. The Carpathians are only sepa- rated from the mountains of the Balkan peninsula by the deep gorge of the Iron Gates. 7. A fourth highland region lies between the THE BUILD OP EUROPE. (9- 13 MAP OK EUROPE, SHOWING THE COUNTRIES. Caspian Sea and the Black Sea in an unbroken chain of mighty heights. Several of the summits are higher than the highest of the Alpine peaks, though they are not so thickly clad with snow and ice. 8. Now let us glance at the lowland regions. We observe that they lie between the great highland districts, and consist of low plains broken only by seas. Look at the far westerly island of Ireland. Its . broad central plain, broken off by the Irish Sea, begins again in England, and is continued across the 14 THE BUILD OF EUROPE. Midlands to the North Sea. On the mainland it stretches in an ever broadening belt right across the Continent from the shores of the North Sea, the Eng- ish Channel, and the Bay of Biscay to the long chain of uplands, known as the Urals, on the eastern bound- ary of Europe. It occupies the whole of Holland and Belgium, and a large part of France and Germany. In Russia it becomes so broad that it comprises nearly the whole of that vast country. 9. Now let us trace the courses of the chief rivers. We find that most of them wind across the lowland regions either northwards, or southwards, or eastwards. " Father Rhine," the grand stream beloved of the Germans, who sing countless songs in its honour, re- ceives its head waters from a melting glacier on the northern slope of an Alpine peak, and wends its way northwards, to find by many mouths an outlet in the North Sea. 10. From the southern slope of the same peak the Rhone receives its earliest waters. At first it flows west, then it turns south, and in the long valley between the central table-land of France and the Alpine mountains rushes in headlong course to the Mediterranean Sea. From a range of hills north of the Alps the Danube rolls its ample flood eastward to the Black Sea ; while across the broad Russian plain " Mother Volga," the longest and largest of European streams, flows southward to the Caspian Sea. COUNTRIES OF EUROPE AND THEIR BOUNDARIES. 15 3. THE COUNTRIES OF EUROPE AND THEIR BOUNDARIES. 1. If we look at a map of Europe, we shall at once see that its twenty-five countries differ very greatly in size and in shape. Russia, for example, occupies more than half the whole continent, while the little country of Belgium is only one-eighteenth of the area of Russia. Nor is Belgium the smallest of European countries. There are four toy states which vary in area from 8 square miles to 175 square miles — that is to say, not one of the four is as large as the island of Anglesey. 2. Six of these European countries stand out as foremost in wealth and influence, and are known as the Great Powers of Europe. The United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, and Italy hold the reins of power not only over Europe, but over most of the world. Though not always friendly with one another, they sometimes agree to lay aside their differences, and work together for the sake of peace. When thus banded together, they are known as the European Concert. 3. Now it is important to notice that the Great Powers comprise within their bounds five-sixths of the area and five-sixths of the people of Europe. In former times the continent was split up into a large number of states, each with its own ruler. These rulers constantly fought with one another, till in time the weaker ones were overcome, and these numerous little states became united into the small number of 16 THE COUNTRIES OF EUROPE large and powerful countries which now form the greater part of Europe. 4. Let us look for a few moments at the boundaries of these European countries. We see that they are partly natural — that is, formed by the sea, mountains, or rivers — and partly artificial — that is, marked out by man. 5. The sea is the best of boundaries, for there can be no doubt or question about its position, and it is also a great bulwark of defence. Our own sea-girt isles owe their happy freedom from invasion to the sea that surrounds them. 6. While all the European countries, except Swit- zerland and Servia, have the sea as part of their boundary, they all touch neighbouring countries in- land. The best land boundary is a range of lofty and rugged mountains such as the Pyrenees, Avhich forms a great natural barrier between France and Spain. These mountains are more valuable than many armies to Spain, and have, indeed, preserved it as a separate country. 7. In the same way Nature seems to have placed her own boundary wall between France and Italy. The huge barricade of the Alps, though pierced by tunnels and crossed by passes, is a great protection for the north of Italy. The greater part of Switzer- land, which is a sort of buffer state between France, Germany, Austria, and Italy also, has the Alps as its ramparts. 8. Lofty mountain ranges cut off the north-western part of Austria-Hungary from the German Empire, ON THE NORWEGIAN COAST. 20 A COASTING VOYAGE. of Europe in the most interesting way if we imagine ourselves on board the large steamer Atalanta, which is about to make a voyage along the coasts of Europe from the Russian port of Archangel on the White Sea. The Blue Peter is fluttering at tlie masthead, the anchor is weighed, and we are now gently dropping down the river Dwina. 3. We are not sorry to leave Archangel, for the little fishing town is very dreary, and the country round about it is more dreary still. There are huge pine forests in the neighbourhood, and from them Archangel exports timber, tar, and resin ; but the sombre hue of the trees does nothing to brighten the landscape. Then, too. Archangel is a fishing centre, and " a very ancient and fish-like smell," as Shake- speare says, hangs about it. 4. No one who arrives at Archangel by sea, and intends to depart in the same way, can afiford to linger long in the place, for the White Sea is frozen over from October to Ma}'. As we haste away, let us remember that it was Richard Chancellor, a fine sea- man of Queen Elizabeth's days, wlio first brought an English ship to Archangel. He tried to discover the north-east passage to India, but failed ; and after suffering great hardships, discovered this Russian port, with which his countrymen have traded ever since. • 5. We sail down the Dwina for forty miles and enter the White Sea, a branch of the Arctic Ocean, which pierces the land-mass of Russia for three hundred and fifty miles. As we steam ahead, the A COASTING VOYAG?]. 21 low, marshy shores of this sea are invisible ; but as we near the ocean, it contracts to a width of less than fifty miles, and we are able to gaze upon the desolate western coast which we are now skirting. 6. Our course now bends to the west, and the coast is still barren and dreary. We are now off the shores of Lapland, where the interesting little people, known as the Lapps, spend their hardy lives. Though they are the shortest people in Europe, the tallest A GROUP OF LAPPS. of them being about five feet in height, they are very strong, and many of them reach a good old age. They live in tents, and wander from place to place with their herds of reindeer, which supply nearly all their wants. The Lapp uses the reindeer to drag his boat-shaped sledge across the frozen lakes and streams. He lives on its flesh and milk, and clothes himself in its skin. 7. Away to the north, where the eternal Arctic (1,100) 2 99 A COASTING VOYAGE. silence is broken only by the screams of sea-birds, lie two groups of ice-capped islands, known as Spitz- bergen and Franz Josef Land. These islands are interesting, because they are used as halting-places on the road which may one day lead explorers to the North Pole. Spitzbergen is very mountainous, and its interior is one great ice-field. ""''■^, North Cape--Nordky THE VOYAGE OF THK "ATALANTA. 8. The Atalanta forges ahead, and we skirt the deeply -indented shores of Norway. Now we see Nordkyn, the most northerly point of the Euro- pean mainland, and some hours later there uprises before us, " Upon the water's edge, The huge and haggard shape Of that unknown North Cape. Whose form is like a wedge." A COASTING VOYAGE. - 23 9. It is the most northerly outpost of Europe, and stands on the Httle island of Magero. North Cape rises in grim might a clear thousand feet out of the ocean. We go ashore, climb to its rugged top, and look out on a wild, weird scene. In front we see mile after mile of sea ; to the right the faint outline of Nord- kyn ; behind us a barren, stony plateau ; and to the left a long line of huge sea cliffs and rocky islands. 10. From November to January, North Cape is plunged in the darkness of the long Arctic night ; but from May to July the sun never sets. Even at midnight it is above the horizon. There is then no sunrise and no sunset, but one long day. 11. Why is this ? In summer time the north polar regions of the earth are inclined towards the sun so much that they receive sunlight throughout the twenty-four hours. Take an orange to represent the earth, and thrust a knitting-needle through it for an axis. Incline the upper end of the axis towards a lamp, and turn the orange round and round. You will at once see that the upper part of the orange is lighted by the lamp during the whole of the rota- tion. This illustrates the long summer day of the Arctic regions. 12. The Atalanta turns her head southwards: we speedily arrive at Hammerfest, the most northerly town in Europe. It is a wood -built little town, which has more than once been burnt down in one outbreak of fire. Now we sail along the coast of Norway inside the huge breakwater of islands, or " skerry wall," which protects the broken shores. On our left 24 IN THE BALTIC SEA. are the Lofoden Isles, near to which great slioals of cod are caught by the hardy Norsemen. Between two of the islands is the famous Miilstrom, or whirl- pool, which was much feared by the sailors of olden days, but is not so dangerous as the old writers would have us believe. 13. The coast of the mainland is deeply cleft with steep-walled, rocky gorges, or fjords, which sometimes stretch for ninety miles inland. Into these fjords thousands of foaming waterfalls hurl themselves, and the surrounding mountains are white with snowfields and glaciers. 14. Hitherto the coast has been bare and lonely, but now fishing villages and towns begin to appear. A day's sail brings us to Trondhjem, one of the oldest towns in Norway. South of Trondhjem we peep into the beautiful Molde Fjord, with its green fields and pleasant woods. 5. IN THE BALTIC SEA. 1. On we sail, and pass fjord after fjord, each of which seems to be more beautiful than the last. Gay steamers, laden with tourists, pass us by, and speedily we arrive at Bergen, the second town in Norv/ay. 2. We go ashore at Bergen, and travel by rail to the little town of Voss, from which we take a stolkjserre, or two-wheeled carriage, for a drive to the Ncerodal, the finest valley in Norway. It is over- hung by mighty mountains, and is so narrow that there is only just i-oom for the road and the river to IN THE BALTIC SEA. 25 worm their way through it towards an arm of the Sogne Fjord. 3. We board our ship once more ; and passing Stavanger, an old town at the southern end of the great line of western islands, we reach the Naze, the most southerly point of Norway. Here we change our course to the east, and pass through the narrow waters of the Skager Rack and the Cattegat. 4. On our right is the long sand spit of the Skaw, A STOLKJ.ERRE. which marks the most northerly point of Jutland. On our left is the southern end of the Scandinavian peninsula, with the beautiful fjord of Christiania, the capital of Norway. Now we have left the wild Norwegian shores behind us, and are sailing between the low-lying coast of Sweden and the islands which guard the entrance to the Baltic Sea. 5. There are three passages b}^ which we may enter the Baltic Sea. The Great Belt and the Little 26 IN THE BALTIC SEA. Belt are dangerous for ships, so we choose the Sound, Avhich lies between the island of Zealand and the coast of Sweden. The narrowest part of the strait is three miles wide, and as we pass through it we see the town of Elsinore, near which Nelson gained the great naval " Battle of the Baltic." Elsinore is also the scene of Shakespeare's great play " Hamlet." 6. We sail past Copenhagen, the capital of Den- mark, and enter the Baltic Sea, the great inland sea of Northern Europe. Our captain tells us that the water of the Baltic is not nearly so salt as that of the open sea. This isjustwhatwe might expect, for we know that very many rivers run into this sea. About one-fifth of all the river-water of Europe finds its way into the Baltic. 7. Skirting the Swedish coast, we pass the islands of Bornholm, Gland, and Gothland, and call at Stock- holm, the capital of Sweden. To reach Stockholm we have to thread our way among the numerous small islands which stud the surface of Lake Malar. We find that the city itself is partly built on islands, and is one of the most attractive of European capitals. North DENMAR^ Sea 3\; THE VOY.'^GK OF THE .VT.\L.\XTA. IN THE BALTIC SEA. 27 (S. Away to the north of Stockhohii one branch of the Baltic, called the Gulf of Bothnia, runs inland for hundreds of miles. We do not, however, propose to visit its waters. Our course is now to the east, and we enter the Gulf of Finland, the eastern branch of the Baltic. On its northern shores lies the province of Russia known as Finland, a wild, barren country of granite plains and great lakes. 9. At the eastern end of the gulf is St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, built near the mouth of the river Neva. Before we reach it, however, we must pass the great island fortress known as Cronstadt, which lies like a watch-dog right across the way to St. Petersburg, whose domes and spires may now be seen gleaming faintly in the distance. Cronstadt cannot be taken : we tried once, but failed. 10. The Baltic is a dangerous sea, not only because of its many rocks and shoals, but because it is blocked by ice for nearly five months of the year. The Russian Government has. now built very strong and heavy steamers, which plough through the ice, and break open canals through the ice floes so that ships may enter and leave the harbours. 11. We now pass up the channel to the mouth of the Neva, through flat but well-wooded countr}', and dropping anchor off the English quay, go ashore to enjoy the " sights " of the splendid city of the Czars. A week later we are aboard again on our return voyage along the eastern shore of the Baltic. 12. As the Atalanta leaves the Gulf of Finland, her course is obstructed by the islands Oesel and 28 IN THE BALTIC SEA. Dago, which enclose the Gulf of Riga, almost cutting it off from the Baltic. We do not visit the port of Riga, but sail on southward, past the mouths of great rivers which drain Western Russia and Germany. As we sail along we see many ships, some carrying coal from British seaports to the Baltic towns, others returning with cargoes of timber or grain. 13. We follow the low, sandy Prussian coast, and reach the port of Kiel. As we are to sail south- fa no e Co Ij filensbor THE K.MSER-WILHKLM CANAL. wand along the coast of Europe, it will save time if we use the canal which connects Kiel with the mouth of the Elbe. 14. We now hurry through the Kaiser- Wilhelm Canal, which extends for sixty-one miles across the neck of the peninsula, and enables German war- vessels to pass rapidly from the Baltic to the North Sea. When we leave the canal we are not far from Hamburg, the greatest seaport of the Continent. FOUR NORTHERN CAPITALS. 30 FROM HAMBURG TO SOUTHAMPTON. 6. FROM HAMBURG TO SOUTHAMPTON. 1. We make a brief .stay at Hamburg, hoist our anchor again, steam seventy miles down the Elbe, and enter the North Sea. Once clear of the low-lying coast, we shape our course to the south-west, and pass the sandstone islet of Heligoland, which belonged to Britain from 1814 to 1890, but was handed over to Germany in the latter year. As we sail b}^ we see a pleasure steamer carrying a crowd of Ham- burgers to the island, which, like our own Isle of Man, has become a popular summer resort. ' Jf^ oo^^e. f > i ■ i 2. Away to the left >^\ Nor^TZ \l ^, ' is the scarcely visible j ^-2 \ ,^,irfih/*^mb.jrg coast of Holland. 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THK NORTH SEA — ANCIENT DAYS. separate them in little over an hour. The Strait of Dover is often very " choppy," and landsmen suffer so much in crossing, that a tunnel under the sea from France to England has been proposed. The proposal, however, does not find much favour in England. 11. Meanwhile we keep near the English coast, and pass into the smooth water of " The Downs," where FROM SOUTHAMPTON TO STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR. 35 we see many ships at anchor. " The Downs " are pro- tected by the Goodwin Sands, a terrible shoal, " where the carcases of many a tall ship lie buried." On we sail past Dungeness and Beachy Head, admiring the " white clitfs of old England." 1 2. We have now entered the English Channel, or La Manche (the sleeve) as the French call it. East and west, north and south, we see the trail of smoke that marks the track of busy steamers, and gaze at the glistening towers of white canvas which reveal the sailing ships. We have left the cold and harsh regions of the north, and now sail over pleasant, sunny seas. 13. Ahead of us is the Isle of Wight, the " Garden of England," with its delightful nooks and pretty pleasure towns. We keep it on our left, and enter the crowded waters of Spithead, where we see the white ensign flying from one of the huge ironclads that enable Britannia to rule the waves. We slip past Ports- mouth, with its great dockyards and powerful forts, and speedily arrive at the quays of Southampton. 7. FROM SOUTHAMPTON TO THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR. 1. We are now going to journey along a sea- road which stretches from Southampton away to the south and east, through the Mediterranean Sea, towards the great possessions of Britain in Asia and the Southern seas. The Atalanta leaves the sheltered 36 FROM SOUTHAMPTON waters of the Solent and steams " down Channel " in a south-westerly direction. 2. To our left lies the rocky and perilous coast of La Belle France. The peninsula of Cotentin, with Cape La Hogue at its western end, juts out as if to bar our way. Behind the cape is the great naval port of Cherbourg, which looks across the Channel and keeps a watchful and jealous eye on Ports- (_'ijiu;iE!;r. i;cck mouth. As we pass La Hogue we recall the victory of Admiral Russell over the French in 1692. 3. We pass La Hogue and see the rocky precipices of the Channel Islands — Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark, the sole remnant of England's once mighty possessions in France. We observe steamers crowded with pleasure-seekers making their way to these beau- tiful resorts, but we hurry on to the south past the dangerous island of Ushant. The bones of many a TO THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR. 37 noble vessel find a resting-place on the cruel rocks that stud the wild sea around Ushant. One of the saddest shipwrecks in these waters was that of the great South African liner the Drumimond Castle, which sank off Ushant in the year 1896 with all her passengers and crew, except three persons. 4. Ushant is the most westerly outpost of the rugged peninsula of Brittany, which is so called, it is said, because it was settled by Britons who fled across the Channel to escape the fur}'^ of the Saxon invaders. Off its rocky coast Admiral Howe gained his famous victory over the French on " the glorious First of June" 1794. Be- hind Ushant lies Brest, another great fortified seaport which stands on a fine roadstead. The entrance to this roadstead, however, is rendered dangerous by reefs and frequent fogs. 5. We are now out of the " chops of the Channel," and are ploughing our way through the Bay of Biscay. This part of the Atlantic is open to strong westerly winds, which raise great waves on its surface, and give THE VOYAGE OF THE ATALANTA. 38 FROM SOUTHAMPTON it a bad name amongst those who go down to the sea in ships. Away to the east is the estuary of the Loire, with the rising port of St. Nazaire at its mouth. 6. Further south is the island of Ke, and behind it the old city of La Rochelle, in which the French Protestants twice suffered a long siege. South of La Rochelle is the island of Oleron, and in its rear the brandy-exporting town of Rochefort. Still further south is the long estuary of the Gironde. 7. Our good ship hurries on, and soon the high- lands and rock-bound coast of Northern Spain loom in sight. The mountains which we see are so full of iron ore, that the magnets of the ship's compass are here rendered almost useless. We pass Cape Ortegal and then Finisterre — the " Land's End " of Spain. Between them lies Corunna, where Sir John Moore died and was buried in 1809. 8. Southward we speed along a broken coast-line, past a bay on which stands the Spanish port of Vigo, a famous station for the fleets of Spain in the days of Queen Elizabeth. Vigo, although strongly forti- fied, was taken no fewer than four times by the Eno'lish. We soon si^ht the mouth of the Minho, and find ourselves skirting the coast of Portugal. 9. Passing the Portuguese seaport of Oporto, we find the coast bordered by sand-hills, behind which ranges of mountains appear. To prevent the sand from blowing inland and spoiling the fields, great pine forests have been planted along the shore. Sailing on, we at length approach the most westerly point of Europe, the Rock of Lisbon, or Cape da Roca, a TO THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR. 39 noble promontory formed by the seaward end of one of the Iberian mountain ranges. Near it the coast forms an ample bay, into which the Tagus flows. 1 0;' At the mouth of the river is Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, a city of white buildings crowned with hills. The coast now trends eastwards to Setubal bar, where it again runs southward as a flat and sandy stretch. Here the coast turns sharply east- wards to the river Guadiana, which forms part of the boundary between Spain and Portugal. 11. We are now in famous waters. Ofl' this part of the Spanish coast two of our greatest sea fights were fought and won. On " the most glorious Valen- tine's Day," as Nelson calls it. Sir John Jervis in 1797 destroyed the Spanish fleet as it was trying to enter the port of Cadiz. Still greater and more glorious than this battle of St. Vincent was the victory of Nelson himself over the fleets of France and Spain in 1805, ten miles from Cape Trafalgar. This victory gave Britain command of the seas — a prize which was not dearly won even by the death of so peerless an admiral as Nelson. 12. During our sail along this Iberian coast the names on the charts recall sea-fight after sea-fight in which the sailors of Britain won renown. Well may the poet sing of our nation, — " Tlieir name's on Torres Vedras, their fame's on Vigo bar, Far flashed to Cape St. Vincent it burns on Trafalgar ; Mark as ye go the beacons that woke the world with light, When down their ancient highway your fathers passed to fioht." 40 FROM GIBRALTAR TO NAPLES. 8. FROM GIBRALTAR TO NAPLES. 1. " Eastward ho ! " is now the cry. We are approaching the Strait of Gibraltar, that narrow channel, less than eight miles wide, which forms the only natural entrance to the Mediterranean, the most famous inland sea on the surface of the globe. Europe and Africa draw very near at the Strait of Gibraltar, and in far-off times the two continents were joined together at this point. 2. The strait has been famous for ao^es. The THE VOYAGE OF THE "ATALANTA."' sailors of ancient days knew it, and dreaded the wild, unknown ocean that lay beyond the Pillars of Her- cules, as they called the steep heights on either side. Before us is the most southerly point of Spain, the clifF-bound island of Tarifa. 3. As soon as Tarifa is passed, the great bay of Gibraltar or Algeciras opens to our view. On the west side of the bay is the Spanish town of Algeciras, and right in front of us, towering out of the gleaming blue waters, is the famous " Rock," over which the Union Jack has waved ever since the year 170-i, FROM GIBRALTAR TO NAPLES. 41 when Sir George Rooke's daring sailors surprised the Spanish garrison, and forced it to yield. 4. The " Rock " is a rugged promontory, with an area of about two square miles, and is joined to the mainland of Spain by a sandy isthmus, which is considered by the British and the Spaniards as " No Man's Land." The town of Gibraltar is on the west side of the promontory, and has a good deal of trade with the nor'th of Africa. It is perched on terraces overlooking the beautiful bay. 5. Three sides of the rock cannot be climbed, and the fourth side bristles with guns. Huge galleries are hewn in the rock, and cannon are placed in them. Almost every spot is occupied by big guns, which sometimes peep out of pretty nooks among geraniums and other bright flowers. The " Rock " itself rises to a height of 1,361 feet, and is crowned by a ruined tower known as O'Hara's Folly. 6. High up in the solitar}^ parts of the " Rock " live a number of apes. The people of Gibraltar are very proud of these creatures, for they are found wild nowhere else in Europe. There are about thirty of them, and they are now carefully preserved. As we might expect, they are of the same family as the apes which are found on the African coast opposite. 7. Our vi.sit to Gibraltar is now over, and we are ploughing the Mediterranean, which, like the Baltic, is an almost tideless sea. It is difficult for us to pic- ture a sea beach on which the tide neither ebbs nor flows, but stands always at the same level, yet this is the case in the Mediterranean, The absence of the (1.100) 3 42 FROM GIBRALTAR TO NAPLES. tide is really a great disadvantage, for the harbours in many cases become stagnant pools, which give otf unpleasant and unhealthy smells. 8. As we skirt the Spanish coast, we have a grand view of the white peaks of the lofty Sierra Nevada — the " snowy mountains " of Southern Spain. We catch a glimpse of the loftiest summit, Mulhacen, the highest European peak outside the Alps. We observe, too, the fertile plains which line the coast, and the patches of beautiful green which mark the vineyards and orange-groves. Many steamers are to be seen coming from the neighbouring Spanish seaports of Malaga and Almeria, laden, doubtless, with oranges, grapes, raisins, and other products of sunny Spain. 9. We hasten on, and reach Cape de Gata, a rugged promontory, about which a heavy sea always rages. One hundred miles to the north-east is Cape de Palos, and about the same distance further on is Cape de la Nao, in which the great ridge of the Sierra Morena comes to an end, only to reappear in the Balearic Isles of Ivica, Majorca, and Minorca, to which we are now bound. 1 0. These fertile islands now belong to Spain ; but at one time Minorca, with its harbour of Port Malion, was a British possession. Vines, olives, and other fruit-ti-ees abound, but corn has to be imported. In ancient times the people of these islands were famous slingers. The boj^s, it is said, had to sling for their dinners, which were hoisted up on poles, and could only be brought down by a well-aimed shot. 11. Away to the north of Minorca the coast of FROM GIBRALTAR TO NAPLES. 43 France makes a great bend inwards, and forms the Gulf of Lions, so called because of the storms which often roar in it. Our course is now eastward, so that we are not able to visit the lovely line of coast which lies between Marseilles and Genoa. Our good ship speeds on, and in course of time we see the high and rugged shores of the island of Sardinia. We sight Cape Spartivento as we pass by. '\'>'^^-. •lfi#M(S, =^^'^i . BONIFACIO. 12. Sardinia, which is larger than Wales, is a most mountainous country, covered with forests. The small plains are swampy and unhealthy, and very little grows on them. There are, however, some rich copper mines and silver mines in the south part of the island. 13. To the north of Sardinia, and separated from 44 FROM GIBRALTAR TO NAPLES. it by the Strait of Bonifacio, is the large French island of Corsica. The strait receives its name from the small town of Bonifacio, which stands on its north- ern shore. In Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, was born Napoleon Bonaparte, the great Emperor of the French. The neighbouring island of Elba was also his home during the year of his exile from France. AJACCIO, CAPITAL OF CORSICA. 14. We are now steaming eastward for the lovely land of Italy. We make the land by night, and steer for the fiery glow above the crater of Vesuvius, which overlooks the Bay of Naples. We learn to our surprise that this glow is only the reflection of the molten lava within the crater upon the cloud of steam which issues from it. At daylight we sight the lovely island of Ischia, and enter the bay. FROM NAPLES TO SICILY, 45 9. FROM NAPLES TO SICILY. 1. "See Naples and die," say the people of the city ; and by this they mean that when one has gazed on Naples he may be content to die, for there is no more beautiful prospect to be seen on the face of the earth. We find, however, that Naples itself is a disappointing place. 2. There are few fine buildings ; the streets are narrow, and are paved with huge, uneven blocks of stone. However, when w^e climb the green heights that surround the city, our disappointment van- ishes, for the lovely bay lies spread out before us like a scene in an enchanted land. 3 We bid farewell ^^^ voyage of the "atalant.\." to the Atalanta for two days, and go ashore to visit the long-buried city of Pompeii, which lies at the base of Mount Vesuvius. We take the train to Pompeii, and there view a Roman pleasure-town exactly as it was two thousand years ago. 4. The ashes which buried the city more than eighteen hundred years ago have now been dug out, and we may gaze upon the ruins of splendid baths and temples ; we may see the ruts of chariot wheels in the streets ; the shops with the oil jars still in them, and the bakers' loaves in the oven ; the drink- A u s T R 1 A n ; Ven ice-*; It^ 1 (> v\ Utr •ia 5v ■^ Dalmatia i o > 5 ^^MONTENEGRO . ^C*ettignB jRjndisi ( i ^p. ilermo V n f Spa rtivento C. ^ j 46 FROM NAPLES TO SICILY, ing-t intains, with the stone ^Yorn away by tlie hands of people who lived long before the Romans came to Britain ; the shop-signs, the placards, and numberless other things which show us plainly how the Romans lived in the days of their might and majesty. 5. In the museum near at hand there are several casts of human beings crouching together and clasped in one another's arms, just as they died when the IN I'lOH'KII. ashes and red -hot stones from Vesuvius rained down upon them. Not far a wa}^ is the city of Herculaneum, which was destroyed at the same time, but is buried under lava-beds so thick and hard that its buildings can only be hewn out with the greatest difficulty. 6. Next morning we pay a visit to the dread volcano of Vesuvius. The road up to it is very wearisome, for it lies through hard, ugly lava beds, unrelieved by a trace of green. We take the cable- FROM NAPLES TO SICILY. 47 tram up the mountain side, and soon reach th lf>um- mit, which we find to be a huge rounded mass of yellow sulphur. The mouth of the crater itself is a vast pot, out of which clouds of steam black with dust continually ascend. 7. We creep as near the edge of the crater as possible, and look down. Suddenly, as we gaze, a THE CEATER OF VESUVIUS. mass of stones is hurled high into the air, the ground shakes, and deep down we can hear the hissing and bubbling of the molten lava. This is Vesuvius at play. What it can do when it is really aroused we can see for ourselves if we cast our eyes across the sunny plain to the few roofless walls that mark the buried city of Pompeii. 48 FROM NAPLES TO SICILY. 8. We now return to our good ship, and the anchor is weighed once more. As we sail out of the bay we pass the lovely pleasure-isle of Capri, and watch the purple headlands unfolding themselves as we coast along southward. On and on we sail, until dusk descends, and the cloud of steam above Vesuvius glows like a pillar of fire. 9. When we come on deck in the morning, we hnd ourselves approaching the Lipari Islands, a group of volcanoes which have built up their cones from the bed of the sea. One of these volcanoes, known as Stromboli, is nearly always active, and is therefore called " The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean." It was amidst these Lipari Islands that the ancients placed the forge of Vulcan, the blacksmith-god. 1 0. We now enter the Strait of Messina, which lies between the three-cornered island of Sicily and the toe of the Italian peninsula. The strait is only two and a half miles wide at its narrowest part, and as the currents are very fierce, our captain comes on the bridge and takes charge of the vessel himself. 11. Our steamer passes between the rock known as Scylla and a whirlpool called Charybdis. The ancients thought Scylla and Charybdis were a pair of monsters ever lying in wait for vessels passing by. The ships of early times trjdng to avoid the whii-lpool often ran upon the rock, and so arose the saying, '• Avoid Charybdis, and fall into Scylla " — that is, be careful not to get out of the frying-pan into the fire. Our steamship has no fear of Charybdis, and it easily avoids Scylla. FROM SICILY TO VENICE. 49 10. FROM SICILY TO VENICE. 1. The flourishing port of Messina stands on the strait, on a harbour enclosed by a piece of land shaped like a sickle or reaping-hook. Other towns along the coast now come into view nestling on the slopes of Mount Etna and its offshoots. The chief of these is Catania, from whicli the ascent of the moun- tain is usually made. 2. Etna from the sea seems to rise out of forests of beech and walnut and chestnut, like a purple pyramid. From its cone we can just see the whift of brown steam which tells us that we are still in the land of volcanoes. As we coast along we admire the lovely landscape of vineyards and groves of olives, oranges, and lemons, varied with patches of crimson clover or fruit-trees in rich blossom. The fruitfulness of this district is due to the rich volcanic soil, which is thinly spread over limestone rocks. 3. About a hundred miles to the south of us is Malta, and we must not pass it by without a visit. One day's sail brings us in sight of the white walls and forts of Valetta, the chief town on the island of Malta. 4. Malta is the chief of an island group situated almost midway between Gibraltar and Egypt. Taken together, the islands are less in area than the smallest English county. Nevertheless, Malta is one of the most important of British possessions : it is the head- quarters of our Mediterranean fleet, a calling place for ships, a strong fortress, and a coaling station. 50 FROM SICILY TO VENICE. 5. In winter the climate is delightful, but in summer the heat is so great that the island has been called a military hothouse. The ground con- sists of sandstone rock, covered with a thin mould so richly fertile that a larger number of people are able to live on the Maltese Islands than on any other equal number of square miles on the face of the globe. 6. Valetta, the capital, stands on the grand har- VALETTA, MALTA. hour of Malta, and is almost as strongly fortified as Gibraltar. Amongst the many fine buildings in the place is the Church of St. John, which recalls the time when the island belonged to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Not until the year 1798 did these knights yield up the island to the French. The new masters of the island treated the people very badly, and the Maltese rose in revolt. They forced the FROM SICILY TO VENICE. 51 French troops to yield the island to a British general, and we have held the Maltese group ever since. 7. The Maltese Islands are part of the curious bank which connects Sicily with the African con- tinent, and divides the Mediterranean Sea into an eastern and a western basin. In ages long gone by this sunken ridge was dry land and the home of huge animals. If we had time Ave might visit the caves of Malta, and see the remains of these ancient crea- tures. Our captain tells us that in the late autumn swarms of birds of passage rest on the Maltese islands during their long journey southward. 8. We now return along the east coast of Sicily to Cape Spartivento, and commence our coasting voyage along the eastern shore of Italy. As we skirt the sole of Italy's poised foot, we see the summits of the Calabrian Mountains, in which the rocky backbone of Italy comes to an end. 9. Now we sail across the mouth of the broad Gulf of Taranto, round Cape di Leuca, and enter the Strait of Otranto, which connects the Mediterranean with the Adriatic Sea. This arm of the Mediterranean runs towards the north-west for some five hundred miles. 10. Presently we rush to the bridge to see a Peninsular and Oriental steamer gallantly ploughing her way towards the Suez Canal, and thence to India. She is an express steamer, and has just left the neighbouring port of Brindisi, where she took on board mails and passengers. In four days she will be at Port Said, the coaling station at the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal, and her mails 52 FROM VENICE TO THE IONIAN ISLES. and passengers will be transferred to the regular steamers plying between London and the East. 11. On and on we go, following the coast, which is bold and rocky, with many promontories which jut far out into the blue sea, as if nature had meant them for the sites of lighthouses. As we proceed towards the head of the gulf, the shores become low and uninteresting. During the whole of our sail the long chain of the Apennines has been in sight. To- morrow we shall be in Venice, " the City of the Sea." 11. FROM VENICE TO THE IONIAN ISLES. 1. The Atalanta is nearing Venice, and now we see rising out of the waves range beyond range of domes, turrets, and spires, gleaming in the morning sun. From the sea it looks a dream city, and as we approach we half expect it to fade away like a vision of the night. 2. Venice is sea-born. It is biiilt in the sea, and has the sea for its streets and highways. The builders FROM VENICE TO THE IONIAN ISLES. 53 of old Venice piled their palaces and temples on islands, and knit the islands together with bridges, that they might be safe from the attack of their enemies. In seeking to make their city secure from attack, these old builders made it wonderfully beautiful. 3. Venice is built on more than seventy islands, and there are about one hundred and fifty canals, including the Grand Canal, which is a long sea-lane bordered by marble palaces. The Grand Canal winds along for more than two miles, and is crossed by several splendid bridges, the most beautiful being the Rialto. We hail a gondola, and presently are gliding noiselessly towards the cathedral of St. Mark's. The car does not " rattle o'er the stony street " in Venice, for there are no cars and no streets. 4. Our gondola is tied up to a red-and-black post, and we climb the marble stairs of the landing-place and gaze on one of the grandest cathedrals in all the world. The Venetians of old lavished their wealth on it, and meant it to be, as it is, the proudest glory of their proud city. In the square in front of the cathedral we see hundreds of pigeons, which flutter down on the chance of being fed. 5. We pass on to the wonderful palace where the doges or rulers of Venice lived in splendour during the days when the city was wealthy and mighty and formed a republic in itself. From the Doge's Palace to the dungeons on the other side of the canal is the famous " Bridge of Sighs," across which many a pale prisoner passed to his doom. 6. Venice is crowded with things and places worth 54 FROM VENICE TO THE IONIAN ISLES. seeing ; but our time is limited, and our good ship is weighing her anchor. As we sadly sail away, we learn that Venice in the Middle Ages was the London of the Continent — that she was the centre of all the trade that passed between India and Europe. 7. The time came, however, when the Cape route to India was discovered, and this proved a death-blow to Venice. Her quays were deserted, and she fell into decay. " The Pearl of the Adriatic " is visited every VENICE FROM year by thousands of strangers, but they are nearly all tourists, who come to feast their eyes on the glorious buildings and famous pictures that abound in it. 8. We now continue our voyage, and skirt the northern shores of the Adriatic. In half a day we find ourselves off the narrow strip of land which forms the Austrian coast. Austria has many excellent har- bours on her deep and sheltered bays, but unfortu- nately these harbours are cut off from the interior FROM VENICE TO THE IONIAN ISLES. 55 by a long range of limestone mountains, from five to six thousand feet high. 9. At the head of an open bay we sight Trieste, the chief port of Austria. It is not a very busy place, for it is only connected with the interior by one mountain railway. Nor is it a very pleasant place to dwell in, for the 6ora, which is a strong, cold north-easterly wind, rages with great force for eight or nine days together during winter. '•••*•« iiiiumMuiMMiiiiiiiim £• A GONDOLA. 10. Following the coast of the peninsula of Istria, we arrive at the naval station of Pola, and see several Austrian warships lying at anchor. Were we to sail along the eastern shore of Istria to the head of the gulf, we should come to Fiume, another important seaport of Austria. 11. We are now skirting the shores of Dalmatia, and find ourselves amidst some of the finest coast scenery of Europe. As in Norway, the seaboard is 56 FROM VENICE TO THE IONIAN ISLES. fringed with islands, some of them being large and important. Our course now lies in and out amidst these green islands, with their pretty villages and interesting ruins. 12r We pass fjords quite equal in beauty to those of Norway, and far away inland we see the snowy peaks of the eastern Alps. In olden times Dalmatia 1 -j was full of towns 1 and villages, but i now only the ruins of them ■^ i remain. It is "■ i likely that some day the coast of Dalmatia will become a fa- vourite haunt of tourists. 13. We now reach the strip of coast belonging to the little in- dependent state of Montenegro, or the Black Mountain. Its capital, Cettigne, is a mere village on a plateau near the sea. Soon we again find ourselves in the Strait of Otranto, which lies between the most easterly part of Italy and the w^estern seaboard of Turkey. Here we see rugged and lofty mountains descending to a swampy and unhealthy coast-plain. THE EI ALTO. FROM THE IONIAN ISLES TO THE DARDANELLES. o7 14. A few hours' steaming brings us in sight of Corfu, the most northerly of the long chain of Ionian Isles, which fringe the western shore of the Balkan peninsula. The town of Corfu has a splendid har- bour, and a large trade in currants. 15. All the Ionian Islands are mountainous in the middle, but around the coasts there are fertile hills and plains, which produce currants, wine, and fruit in great abundance. Up to the beginning of the eight- eenth century these islands belonged to the Venetian Republic. In the early years of the nineteenth cen- tury they were placed under the care of Britain, but were handed over to Greece in the year 1863. 12. FROM THE IONIAN ISLES TO THE DARDANELLES. 1. As we steam along, we constantly pass coasting vessels sailing to and from the various isl- ands. The Greeks are excellent sailors, and a large part of the Greek merchant shipping be- longs to these islands. ™^ ^o^^^e of the " atalant-v. '" We are now between Cephalonia and Zante, and looking eastward we see the long and deep Gulf of Corinth, which nearly cuts Greece in twain. 2. We might sail up the gulf to Corinth, and take our vessel through a few miles of ship canal, into the Gulf of yEgina, thus avoiding the long sail round the (1,100) 4 58 FROM THE IONIAN ISLES irregular peninsula. We are in no hurry, however, and prefer to skirt the broken shores of Southern Greece or the Morea, as it is called from its likeness to a fig-leaf. 3. Three finger-like peninsulas thrust themselves out from the Morea, and the middle one ends in Cape Matapan, the most southerly point in Europe. No sooner do we sight its cliffs than we alter our course to the south, to visit the long and picturesque island of Candia or Crete. It is a very fertile island, and in ancient days is said to have had a hundred cities. THE CORINTH SHIP CANAL. 4. Crete is part of the great curve of islands which bound the yEgean Sea on the south. As we approach it we see Mount Ida lifting its peak above the limestone ranges which occupy a large part of the island. We now enter the port of Canea, and spend a few days ashore. We find that the climate is warm and the rainfall sufficient. Cattle are pastured on the mountains, and grain, olives, and grapes are largely grown on the plains. TO THE DARDANELLES. 59 5. Crete was under the rule of the Turks from the year 1669 to 1898, and was, of course, very badly governed. Time after time the Cretans, who are nearly all of Greek race, rose against their cruel masters, but again and again they were defeated. In 1898, however, the Great Powers came to the rescue, and gave the island self - government. It is now almost independent, and is governed by a Christian prince. 6. Crete contains many ancient remains, the most interesting being the famous labyrinth or maze, about which many strange old stories are told. This laby- rinth consists of a number of dark underground pas- sages, which wind and twist about in a very puzzling way. 7. The old legends tell us that in these passages there once lived a terrible monster, that had to be fed every year with seven youths and seven maidens belonging to the city of Athens. A young hero named Theseus, with the help of the daughter of the King of Crete, pushed his way into the labyrinth and slew the monster. As he passed through the passages he unwound a skein of silk, and by means of this clue he was able to find his way out again. 8. Leaving Canea, we speedily find ourselves in that part of the Mediterranean which is thickly studded with lovely islands. The Greeks called this island-studded sea the " Chief Sea," or Archipelago. Now, quite wrongly, we give the name archipelago to any large cluster of islands. 9. The isles of Greece are little fairylands. Snow 60 FROM THE IONIAN ISLES TO THE DARDANELLES. and frost are almost unknown, except on the moun- tain tops, and the great heat of summer is tempered by the breezes that blow across the deepest of deep blue seas. All the richest fruits and flowers of the sunny South flourish upon them in abundance. Many of the islands have mountains and hills of marble. The white and dazzling marble of the island of Paros is the best in the world. 10. The islands of the Archipelago are divided into two groups — the Cyclades and the Sporades. The Cyclades are off the Grecian coast, and the Sporades are near the Turkish coast. Some of the islands are mere rocks, with a thin covering of grass, on which a few sheep live ; while others are large, and contain towns and villages. 11. Most of the islands are mountainous, and many of them are large enough to be watered by little rivers. Nearly all of them have good harbours, which are now almost deserted, though in ancient days they were full of ships. The Cyclades, especially Naxos and Santorin, are famous for their wine and fruits. Santorin is an old volcano, with its great crater now invaded by the sea. 12. Our course is northward through the ^gean Sea. On our left is the deeply - cleft seaboard of Macedonia, which sweeps round to the east and sinks into low coast plains. On our right is the island- fringed coast of Asia Minor. In a few more hours' steaming we arrive at the entrance to the Dardanelles, the narrow channel which separates Europe from Asia Minor. FROM THE DARDANELLES ROUND THE BLACK SEA. 61 13. FROM THE DARDANELLES ROUND THE BLACK SEA. 1. The Atalanta has now arrived at the last stage of her long voyage. We have shortened it here and there by cutting off many of the windings of the very irregular coast-line of Europe. If we had fol- lowed every turn and bend of the coast, our long voyage would have stretched out to a length of about fifty thousand miles. THE DARDANELLES. 2. Our ship's papers are now examined by Turkish officers, and all being in order, we begin to thread the Dardanelles, which extend from south-west to north-east for forty miles, with a breadth varying from one to four miles. No ship of war belonging to any nation but Turkey is allowed to pass through the Dardanelles, unless the Sultan gives permission. As we sail along against a strong current, we see powerful fortresses on either side, and cannot help 62 FROM THE DARDANELLES thinking that any ship of war would take grave risks in trying to force the passage. 3. We read a good deal about the Dardanelles in ancient history. More than three hundred years be- fore Christ, Alexander the Great crossed it by means of a bridge of boats. About a hundred years before, Xerxes, King of Persia, had crossed it in the same way with an army that took seven days and seven nights to pass the bridge. An old-world story tells us of a youth named Leander, who used to swim across it every night to visit his lady-love, until at last he was drowned. Lord Byron, the poet, swam across the strait in the year 1810. 4. Leaving the Dardanelles, we steam into the Sea of Marmora, a broad and deep basin which forms part of the waterway connecting the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. This sea gets its name from one of its islands, which is famous for marble and alabaster. 5. We now approach another passage even more important than the Dardanelles. This is the Bos- porus, or Ox Ford, a river-like strait seventeen miles long, and deep enough for the largest ships to pass. The banks are lined with towns and villages, castles and parks, ancient towers, and very strong modern fort^. At the southern end of the Bosporus is a bay called the Golden Horn. On this bay stands the city of Constantinople, the capital of Turkey. 6. We pay a visit to the city, which at a distance seems very beautiful, and suffer much disappointment. The streets are narrow, dirty, and evil-smelling, and are crowded with hungry-looking dogs and noisy ROUND THE BLACK SEA. 63 beggars. Some of the mosques are wonderfully grand, especially that of St. Sophia. When the Emperor Constantine gave his name to the city, and made it the capital of the Roman Empire, St. Sophia was a Christian church. 7. We now steam out into the Black Sea, which is nearly as large as Sweden. Its dark waters reflect the dull sky above us as we sail north- ward for the port of Odessa, in South Russia. On our left is the high, rocky Turkish the voyage of the "atalanta. coast, which sinks lower and lower till we reach the flat, marshy plain through which the many mouths of the river Danube open into the sea. 8. As we sail along, we are struck by the almost total absence of islands, and we sigh for those we have left behind in the Archipelago. Now the voyage becomes very uninteresting, and nothing attracts our attention until we sight the great grain port of Odessa. From our deck it seems a fine place, with handsome houses rising in terraces from the sea. 9. Leaving Odessa, we make for Sebastopol, a fortress on the diamond-shaped peninsula of the Crimea, which is really an outlying part of the mighty Caucasus range. In the south-east is a long range of mountains, and to the north of the moun- 64 FROM THE DARDANELLES ROUND THE BLACK SEA. tains lie the steppes, which are only good for pas- turage. The northern mountain slopes are, however, richly fertile, and are laid out in orchards and gardens, watered by rivers. This part of the Crimea is very beautiful, and contains several health-resorts. 10. The Crimea recalls to us the long war which Britain and France waged against Russia in order SUMMER PALACE IN THE CRIMEA. to prevent Turkey from falling into the hands of the Northern power. Sebastopol reminds us of its great siege ; the little river Alma, of the fierce fight which took place on its banks ; Inkermann and Bala- clava, of battles which Britons will never forget. 11. Coasting past Livadia, which boasts a summer palace of the Czars, we reach the Strait of Kertch, which admits vessels to the shallow Sea of Azov. We THE ALPS. 65 do not enter the sea, however, bvit steer for the port of Batum, and see on our left hand the huge, snow- clad peaks of the Caucasus. The coast is bare and forbidding, and we do not find Batum an interesting place. It was handed over to the Russians in 1878, and is now a second Sebastopol. 12. From Batum we hurry back by the shortest possible route to Constantinople, and as the Atalanta lies at anchor in the Golden Horn, we watch the sun glittering on the minarets and domes of that ancient city, and congratulate one another on having made a complete tour of the European coast. 14. THE ALPS. 1. We must now consider more carefully the great highland region of Europe known as the Alps. This vast mountain system, as we have already seen, lies in the heart of Europe, and thrusts out its spurs in all directions. 2. Look at your map of Europe, and find the Gulf of Genoa, in the north of Italy. We find these famous mountains stretching in a gigantic curve from the shores of this gulf round the north of Italy, and then away into the south of Austria. They cover an area not much less than that of the main- land of Great Britain, and their total length is nearly twice that of England. The width of the mountain region varies from thirty miles to one hundred and sixty miles. bo THE ALPS. 3. We must not suppose that the Alps consist of a single mountain chain. On the contrary, they are made up of many chains, almost parallel with one another. If we approach the Alps from the northern plains, we find first the wooded Fore Alps, which RELIEF MAP OF THE ALPS. form, as it were, the buttresses of the loftier masses. Passing over, these we come to the Middle Alps, which in summer time are covered with rich green grass and beautiful flowers. Tens of thousands of cows, each with a musical bell slung round its neck, chew the cud on these sweet pastures, and provide THE ALPS. 67 the milk which is condensed by the Swiss and sent in tins all over the world. 4. Beyond the Middle Alps lie the High Alps, some of whose peaks rise to a height of nearly three miles. For the most part their valleys are filled with glaciers, and their heads are crowned with an eternal snow cap. Above nine thousand feet the snow, as a rule, never melts, and nothing can grow in these frost- bitten regions but mosses and hardy shrubs. As the southern slopes look towards the sun, the snow-line on the south side is higher than that on the north side. 5. Mountains like the Fore Alps are not to be found on the Italian side, where the Middle Alps descend by steep, rocky precipices to the Italian plain. The grandest view of these mighty mountain masses is therefore to be obtained from this plain, out of which the Alps rear their hoary heads in awful majesty. 6. At the foot of the high central chain are wide, long valleys, in which some of the chief rivers of Europe take their rise. Cross valleys, which often end in great blue lakes, connect these main valleys with the plain to the north. Besides these valleys, there are many others containing lakes and streams. 7. Of all the lofty mountains in the world, the Alps are the easiest to cross. Numerous roads or passes lead from France and Switzerland into Italy. In the Western Alps is the Mont Cenis Pass, which was much used in the Middle Ages, but is now dis- used. Mont Cenis has been pierced by a tunnel seven and a half miles long, and by means of it Turin, the 68 THE ALPS. chief town of North Italy, can be reached in two and a half hours from the French border. 8. Amongst other important passes is that of the Great St. Bernard, which connects the valley of the Rhone with the Italian plain. Across this pass Na- poleon led an army in May 1800. He had been told by his engineers that the route was not possible. " We will make it so," he said, and he did. THE HOSPICE OF ST. BERNARD. 9. Before the railway tunnels of Mont Cenis, the Brenner, and St. Gothard were made, the crossing of the Alps was very dangerous, and many travellers perished in the snow. Hundreds of years ago a monastery was built on the summit of the Great St. Bernard Pass, and ever since that time devoted monks have spent their lives in this desolate region, ready to help wayfarers who need food, lodging, or assistance. THE ALPS. G9 10. The monks generally begin their lives in the monastery at eighteen years of age, and continue for fifteen years, by which time they are quite broken down by the terrible weather which they have to endure. Through the awful winter months storms are frequent, and it is then that the splendid cour- age and self-denial of these men is tested to the utmost. 11. Their great St. Bernard dogs are set free, and roam about to find travellers who have been overcome by fatigue or cold. In the monastery food and lodging are given to all who ask for it. The building is perched eight thousand feet above sea-level, and is constantly in danger of being de- stroyed by avalanches. 12. Perhaps the most interesting pass of all is that of St. Gothard, which is crossed by one hundred and thirty-seven miles of railway, passing over three hundred and sixty bridges, and through no less than sixty -five wonderfully -hewn tunnels. This marvel- lous railway is now the main road from the great cities of Europe to Italy. It took ten years to make, and cost ten millions of money. 13. During the ascent the traveller passes through miles of solid rock, crosses yawning chasms, and runs by the side of precipices that make the head swim. The train rises higher and higher by a spiral road, which crosses and recrosses streams, and passes and repasses the same point at various levels, ever climb- ing higher and higher, until the St. Gothard tunnel at Goeschenen is reached. This is the lono^est tunnel 70 A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. in the world ; and in passing through its eight and a half miles the traveller has villages and mountain lakes three or four thousand feet above his head. 14. Many of the Alpine peaks may now be as- cended by railway. Near Lucerne, a famous tourist centre in Switzerland, are the heights of Mount Pilatus and the Rigi, which afibrd wonderful views, and can be ascended by cog-wheel railways. Part of the vast mountain of Jungfrau, 13,000 feet in height, is now climbed by a railway which is soon to be continued to the summit. Ml,,, • "The lovely town 15. A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND.— I. 1. " My dear come to an end. "Hotel Belle Vue, Geneva, August 30, 1901. Harry, — Alas ! my holiday has I am sitting at the window of my hotel, gazing across the beautiful blue Lake of A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. 71 Geneva at a distant cluster of snow-white peaks, now tinged with the rosy glow of sunset. I am taking a farewell look at them, for to-morrow I return to England. 2. " As you have not yet visited Switzerland, I propose to write you a brief account of what I have seen and done. A month ago Mr. Roberts and I left Holborn Viaduct station by the nine o'clock train for Dover, and crossed the Channel to Ostend, where the train in which we were to spend the next sixteen hours or so was waiting for us in the station. K^ "-^ — rmmHmm^fKKmmmtmii^sstfi^BsmBisit ' '■ i of Lucerne." 3. " We rattled through the Belgian plain, paused awhile at Brussels, and then settled down for our long night journey. I was tired, and slept soundly until early in the morning, when I was awakened by the portei's shouting, ' Basle ! Basle ! ' Now w^e were really in Switzerland, and our holiday had bearun. 72 A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. 4. " We had a cup of coffee at the railway buffet, and once more the train moved on. As there was no time to visit the town, Mr. Roberts, who knows Switzerland very well, told me something about it. He said that Basle was founded by the Romans, and was now the most important railway centre in the country ; that the broad, swift Rhine ran through it ; and that there was a fine cathedral in the place. 5. " An hour after leaving Basle, on oui- way towards the lovely town of Lucerne, we arrived at Olten, an important junction, with railway works. The next point of interest was the Lake of Sempach, by the rude of which our train ran for some miles. Near this lake, in the year 1386, the Swiss w^on one of their most glorious victories over the Austrians. You will remember that in this battle Arnold von Winkelried flung himself upon the Austrian spears, and thus ' made way for liberty.' 6. " After leaving Sempach, we got our first view of the mountains, and skirted the bank of the green Reuss, flowing like a torrent out of Lake Lucerne to join the Aar, which carries a great volume of Swiss water to the Rhine. In another half-hour our train drew up in the fine railway station of Lucerne. 7. " Lucerne is a delightful place. Mr. Roberts and I wandered about it for hours admiring its gray watch-towers, its red roofs, its wooden bridges, its painted houses, its shady walks by the lake, and its cathedral. I cannot stay to describe all the beauties of the place, but I must tell you something of the Lion of Lucerne and the Glacier Garden. ONE SUMMER IN SWITZERLAND. 74 A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. 8. " In a leafy nook just outside the town there is a great rock rising out of a httle pool. Hewn out of this rock is the figure of a dying lion with a spear sliaft broken in his side. It is a grand piece of carving, and serves to remind us of the gallant Switzers who died in defence of their master, Louis the Sixteenth, when he was attacked by the people of Paris. 9. " By far the most interesting monument of Lucerne is the Glacier Garden, which tells us of a time when a great glacier made its way down from the mountains, and right over the site of the present town of Lucerne. 1 0. " In the rock which has now been laid bare are a number of wonderful ' pot-holes ' or glacier-mills. These have been formed by the hard rocks frozen into the glacier scooping out great holes in the softer rock over which they passed ages ago. Some of the ' pot- holes ' are thirty or forty feet deep, and at the bottom of them lie the rounded ' marbles,' which once upon a time were whirled round and round by the moving glacier, and thus ground out the great hollows. 11. "You cannot imagine anything more lovely than the Lake of Lucerne. It is shaped something like a cross, and is forty-four square miles in area. The rich blue of the water, the lovely green of the wooded mountains on its shores, the play of sunshine and shadow on its surface, make up a picture which is a dream of beauty. 12. "For the next stage of our journey we took the white steamboat that sails from one end of the A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND, 75 lake to the other. As we left the quay we admired once more the rugged form of Mount Pilatus, which serves as a weather-glass to the people of Lucerne. Fortunately the top was clear of clouds, and so we were sure of a fine day. Our boat sailed from one / i>>r-s':M- .V !'»!«/."] luii. LION OF LLcia.:^.. little lake-side village to another, past orchards and toy-like chalets perched high on the mountain side. 13. " We touched at one little lake-side village after another, and landed a large number of passengers at Vitznau, where the cog-wheel railway for the ascent of the Rigi begins. We did not visit this summit, but I am told that the views from the top, comprising hundreds of miles of snow-clad peaks, are very fine, and that to see a sunrise from the Rigi is to witness one. of the grandest sights which the world has to show. (1,100) f» 76 A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. 16. A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. -II. 1. "As we sailed on, Mr. Roberts pointed out the beautiful green meadow above the lake where the Swiss leaders met in 1307 to plan the rising which drove the Austrians out of the country. He showed me, too, Tells Chapel, which is erected on the rock where William Tell is said to have escaped from the Austrian soldiers. 2. " Beyond the chapel I noticed that the road was tunnelled out of the solid rock, and that there were great windows left in the side nearest to the lake. Each of these windows seemed to frame a most lovely view. 3. " At the end of the lake we took the train to Goeschenen, travelling by the famous St. Gothard Railway. Then we strapped our knapsacks on our backs, and trudged to Andermatt, where four passes meet. Thence we pushed on over the Furka Pass, amidst wild mountain scenery, to the great ice-field in which the Rhone takes its rise. 4. " This glacier is six miles long, and all around it are snow-clad peaks, rising to twelve thousand feet in height. From the glacier we descended the Rhone valley to the little town of Martigny, and on the way had a glimpse of the Matterhorn, the most terrible of Swiss peaks. We saw its bare, wedge- like summit at the head of a splendid side valley. 5. " From Martigny we walked over the pass of the Tete Noire, and, amidst wonderful views, left Switzerland, and came into the French vale of A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. 77 Chamonix, famed all the world over for the striking beauty of its Alpine scenery. Here we found our- selves at the very foot of Mont Blanc, ' the monarch of mountains ; ' and by means of the telescope in our hotel garden, we were able next day to view a party of climbers making an ascent. 6. " We noticed that each climber was provided with the stoutest of boots and leggings, and carried MONT BLANC AND THE VALLEY OF CHAMONIX. an axe with which to cut steps in the ice. Each of the guides had a coil of rope, so that in difficult places the mountaineers might be roped together. Then if one should slip, the others could stand firm and sup- port their companion until he gained a secure footing once more. 7. " Climbing the Alpine summits is a dangerous pastime. A slip, and a climber may be hurled to his 78 A LITTLE TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. death thousands of feet below ; a false step, and he may fall into a great crack or crevasse, hidden from sight by a covering of snow ; a storm, and the whole party may be lost, and perish miserably on the moun- tain side. Yet in spite of all these dangers, hun- dreds of people climb the highest Alpine peaks each year. 8. " A grand range of mountains forms the south- eastern boundary of the valley of Chamonix, and the snowy summit of Mont Blanc itself crowns the whole. Seven great glaciers crawl downwards into the valley, which is always musical with the rush of milk-white streams. 9. " The glacier that we visited was the Mer de Glace, or Sea of Ice. A climb of two or three hours brought us to the valley which the wide expanse of ice has worn out for itself. We scrambled down to the level of the ice, through the fringe of dirt and stones which is found on each side of every glacier, and walked gingerly across to the other side. So many people had passed over the glacier that the path had become a beaten track. 1 0. " Yesterday we left Chamonix for the Sw4ss city of Geneva, which is beautifully placed at the west end of the Lake of Geneva. It is a very old city, though it looks quite modern, and has a number of fine buildings and pleasant gardens. Where the Rhone dashes out of the lake it is forced to turn great wheels, and thus produce enough electricity to light all the lamps and drive all the machines in Geneva. THE PLAYGROUND OF EUROPE. 79 11. "A tour of Lake Geneva is delig-htful, thouuli the scenery of Lake Lucerne is far finer. We sailed along the shores of the lake for hours, past beautiful towns and vine-clad slopes. Near the eastern end of the lake, some forty-five miles from Geneva, we saw the famous Castle of Chillon, in whose dungeons a certain Bonnivard of Geneva spent six long, lonely years of imprisonment. 1 2. " Our English poet Byron lived for some time on the shores of the lake, and in one of his poems he thus writes of the poor captive : — ' Chillon ! thy prison is a holy place, And thy sad floor an altar ; it was trod Until his very steps have left a trace, Worn as if the cold pavement were a sod, By Bonnivard. May none those marks efface, For tliey appeal from tyranny to God.' My holiday is ended. I shall be home in a few days. Till then, adieu ! — Your affectionate uncle, " Edward." 17. THE PLAYGROUND OF EUROPE. 1. Switzerland is a land of mountains ; and its people, like all mountaineers, have a great love of home and country. They are seldom happy in a foreign land, and though many of them go abroad to seek their fortunes, they usually return to spend their old age among the scenes they love so well. 2. The story of the Swiss is the story of a race of simple-minded peasants who have struggled long and 80 THE PLAYGROUND OF EUROPE. fiercel}^ to be free. The first inhabitants of the country lived in villages built on piles in lakes ; but the earli- est of whom we read in the pages of history were a people of the same race as the ancient Britons. 3. These people were conquered by Julius Caesar, and ruled by the Romans until their power began to fade away. Then Switzerland became part of the empire of Charles the Great, and afterwards fell into the hands of the German emperors. 4. Later on, the Dukes of Austria seized the country-, and treated the people very cruelly. The Swiss took up arms, and, after a number of stubborn fights, overcame the Austrians, who made peace witli them. The cantons or states into which Switzerland is divided gradually joined together, and, after many other wars, formed a republic, which continues to this day. 5. It seems rather strange that a nation so united in its love of country should be made up of different races speaking different languages. Yet it is so. Some of the Swiss are of French origin, and they speak French ; others are of Italian descent, and they speak Italian ; a third set, consisting of nearly three-fourths of the inhabitants, are of German race, and they speak the language of the " Fatherland." 6. Switzerland is divided into twenty-two cantons. Each canton manages its own affairs, and sends mem- bers to a council whicli acts for Switzerland as a whole in all matters which concern foreign nations. Every man has a vote, and every man able to bear arms is compelled to serve for a time in the arrny. THE PLAYGROUND OF EUROPE. 81 Jura y } ^ c^b^ nu«Jt__5^-=B""' l"';^' .■^V>^''"">V2J^i / Lausaiuie (? Ijungfrau , . .^ - "Spl^jgen ,' , ^.]M ,.. J..J«i^»«V«L| ■' '^"'^^*^HI w m^^^ ^jj0^ ■ ?^^ ^M A^^ J|^^^^^<' ;^ ON THE MOSELLE. French slope of the Vosges mountains, and is a beau- tiful, winding stream, flowing through a land of vine- yards, from which much light wine is made. Opposite to Coblentz, and connected with it b}^ a bridge of boats, is the great fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, known as " the Gibraltar of the Rhine." 9. As the river approaches Bonn, the Drachenfels, 178 "father RHINE." or " Dragon's Rock," is passed. Its top is crowned with a ruined castle, and at the foot is a cave in which, according to the story, a terrible dragon once lived. This creature was slain by Siegfried, a sort of German St. George. Xow the river passes the pleasant town of Bonn, and some twenty miles lower down reaches the important city of Cologne, which takes rank as the seventh largest town of Ger- many. 10. A bridge of boats and a handsome railway bridge span the stream, and high above the roofs and spires of the city are the two lofty towers of the cathedral, which is one of the noblest of all Christian temples. It was begun in the thirteenth century, but was not completed until 1880, when great serv- ices were held, at which the Emperor of Germany and his family were present. 11. The cathedral contains priceless paintings, stained-glass windows, tapestry, and carvings in wood and stone. It is the highest stone building in the world, some of its pinnacles being five hundred and twenty feet from the ground. Cologne was formerly a very dirty and evil-smelling place ; yet strangely enough it then manufactured, as it does now, the sweet scent known as eau de Cologne. 12. From Cologne onwards the river flows through the plains towards the boundar\' of the Netherlands, where its delta begins. North of Cologne is a coal- field, on which stands a swarm of small and grimy towns engaged in mining coal, weaving cotton and linen, and making iron and steel. "the fatherland." 179 37. "THE fatherland; 1. Germany occupies almost the whole north and west of Central Europe. It stretches northward from the Alps to the North Sea and the Baltic, and its greatest length in this direction is equal to that of Great Britain. On its western borders are France, Belgium, and Holland ; to the east is Russia. 2. In all, Germany is a little larger than France- — • that is, about four times the area of England. North Germany is a plain, with a broken chain of sand- dunes fronting the sea ; while South Germany is a highland district, consisting of table-lands and moun- tain ranges, which extend northward from the Alps. 3. From the Oi"e Mountains, which divide Bohemia from South Germany, a mountain region strikes towards the north-east. The northern part of it is known as the Harz Mountains. Here we find high table-lands, bordered by granite hills, and deeply scored with beautiful valleys and waterfalls. This highland region is not fertile, and the Hessians who inhabit it have to struggle hard to make a livelihood. A German proverb says, — " Where a Hessian can't thrive None other need strive." 4. The Brocken, the highest summit of the Harz Mountains, is about the height of Snowdon. In days gone by it was thought to be the abode of evil spirits. It was said, among other things, that on Walpurgis night (April 30) witches from all parts of the world 180 " THE FATHERLAND." RELIEF MAP OV GERMANY. rode thither on broomsticks and he-goats, and until morning dawned held high revel. 5. Probably some of these Avonderful tales have their origin in a strange sight that is sometimes to be seen on the summit of the Brocken. A huge figure appears on the mist ; it looks ghostly enough, but it is nothing very alarming, for it is only the shadow of the spectator cast upon the mist by the rising or the setting sun. 6. While the Danube and the Rhine drain Southern Germany, a multitude of fine navigable rivers flow THE FATHERLAND. 181 MAP OF GERMANY. across the north German plain to the North Sea and the Baltic. Only the smaller rivers, however, are wholly German ; the rest have their sources in countries to the south or the east. Those which run into the Baltic discharge themselves Avholly or in part through great lagoons called " haffs." Some of these " haffs " are joined to the sea by canals. 7. Germany is made up of a number of different kingdoms and states. Some of them, such as Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurtemberg, still keep their own kings ; others, like Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, have a duke : but all 182 "the fatherland," of them — whether ruled by kings, princes, or dukes — are united together under the headship of the King of Prussia, who since 1871 has held the title of German Emperor, or Kaiser. 8. The Kaiser is the head of the whole empire. It is he who makes war or peace, and he is commander- in-chief of the united German forces. Though he has a great deal of power in his hands, he is not un- checked lik-e the Czar of Russia. Each of the differ- ent states of the empire manages its own home affairs, and is represented in the German Parliament, which manages the affairs of Germany as a whole. 9. The German people have many good qualities. They are honest and straightforward, brave and hard- working— a nation of soldiers, of untiring plodders, and of deep thinkers. They are very fond of home, and are wonderfully simple in their mode of life. They love poetry, and are devoted to music. We must not suppose that they send us their best per- formers in the " German bands " which play in our streets, and so often offend our ears. 10. The Germans are large eaters and drinkers, but their food is not very rich, and their drink is chiefly lager beer, German sausages and sauer- kraut are the national dishes. Most of us have seen or tasted German sausages ; but sauer-kraut, which is a mixture of cabbage and salt, is not often seen outside the " Fatherland." Everybody in Ger- many is well educated ; sometimes children go to school at six in the morning, and work hard until late in the day. "the fatherland." 183 11. " Made in Germany " is now to be seen stamped on many articles sold in our shops. The things so marked are generally cheaper than those of English make, for wages are lower and living is cheaper in Germany than in England. German manufacturers, therefore, can obtain a fair profit if they charge a low price, and they can thus afford to undersell British manufacturers. 12. German workmen and German merchants are better educated than those of Britain, and this is another reason why Germany is able to take away some of our trade. All the young men are well drilled, for every one who is strong and healthy is forced to serve for two years in the regular army, and for five years in the reserves. Germany is the greatest military country of Europe. She has a standing army of more than 480,000 soldiers, and could call up in time of war no fewer than three million trained men. 13. Many of the Germans are engaged in different branches of farming, and a great deal of excellent wine is made, especially in the Rhine valley. It would, in fact, not be easy to find anything that is not made somewhere or other in Germany. 14. The Germans, like the Danes, are very closely related to the English. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, from whom the English are descended, were German tribes who inhabited the southern part of the peninsula of Jutland. The language which they spoke may be called the forefather of modern English. 184 SOME GERMAN TOWNS. 38. SOME GERMAN TOWNS. 1. Prussia, the chief state of the German Empire, holds the lion's share of North Germany, and has many large towns. To begin with, there are the seaports — the gates, so to speak, of the kingdom. Many of these seaports dot the coast ; but some harbours, which formerly were important, have now silted up. 2. Hamburg, the busiest and most famous of the German ports, is on the river Elbe, sixty-five miles from the sea. It is the greatest seaport on the Continent, and has reached that proud position be- cause it is open to the North Sea, and because, by means of the Elbe, its tributaries and canals, it can forward goods cheaply to the interior of the country. 3. As long ago as the thirteenth century, Hamburg was an important place. In 1242 this city and other towns on the Elbe joined together in the Hanseatic League, for the double purpose of putting down piracy and defending themselves from attack. The towns thus banded together in this league became very powerful. 4. Bremen, another important town, trades with all parts of the world. One of its great lines of steamships is the North German Lloyd. This com- pany owns the large and famous steamers Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and the Deutscldand, which have made very swift passages to New York. Bremen and Hamburg command the whole German trade with America. SOME GERMAN TOWNS. 185 5. Berlin, the capital, stands on a sandy plain far- away from the coast. The little river Spree, which is connected by canals with the Elbe and the Oder, runs through the city. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Berlin appears to have been merely a fishing settlement ; but since then a great many changes have taken place, and Berlin is now the capital and the largest city in the empire. Its position, half-way between the coast and the southern OBEK-AJIilERGAU. border of the country, has made it an important trade centre, and now all the great railway lines of Central Europe meet in its stations. 6. Though Berlin, unlike London or Paris, has no noble stream flowing through it, and no historical story to relate, it has a number of splendid streets, a great university, noble buildings, and most important manufactures. The pride of Berlin is the Unter den Linden, or the walk " under the lime-trees." 186 SOME GERMAN TOWNS. 7. This street is one of the finest in Europe ; it is about a mile long, and has an avenue of lime-trees on either side. At one end of the Unter den Linden is the royal palace, and in front of it a statue of Frederick the Great on horseback. But Berlin is above all a manufacturing city, and half the people in it work in the woollen and other factories. 8. Potsdam, some eighteen miles distant, is re- nowned for its palaces, military colleges, and strong garrison. Cologne and Frankfort-on-Main, which have already been described, are two of the most notable cities of Prussia. In the south-east of the same coun- try is Breslau, the second city of the kingdom. It stands upon the river Oder, which is crossed by many handsome bridges. Breslau is a busy manufacturing place, with linen fairs and a great woollen market. 9. Turning to South Germany, we find the king- dom of Bavaria, which is nearly as large as Scotland. It lies west of the Bohemian Forest and north of the Tyrol, and its capital, Munich or Munchen, is famous for glass works and art galleries. It is the greatest beer-brewing town in the world, but owing to the lack of coal in the neighljourhood it has few manufactures. 10. High up in the mountains to the south-west is the village of Ober-Ammergau, where, in the year 1600 — so the story goes — the plague broke out. In grief and terror the inhabitants vowed that, if the plague were stayed, they would perform every tenth year a play showing the suffering and death of Christ. 1 1 . The vow has been kept ; but for a long time the Passion Pla}'- of Ober-Ammergau was quite unknown L .mit^t^. GERMAN CITIES. 188 SOME GERMAN TOWNS. to fame. Then, as people began to travel more, the play became known far and wide ; and now visitors flock in such numbers to see it, that the performance is repeated during several weeks. To the villagers themselves the play is still a sacred thing, and they try to lead lives such as may befit them to take the part of the holy characters whom they represent. 12. Another important kingdom of South Germany is Saxony, which lies north of the Ore Mountains. It is crossed by the river Elbe, on which stands Dresden, world-famous for its china, paintings, sculp- ture, and pianofortes. Dresden is the capital of Saxony, and its art treasures have earned for it the title of " the Florence of the Elbe." It lies amidst sweet meadows and noble woods, almost enclosed b}'^ the hills of Saxony. 13. Dresden has large iron-works, and many of the books printed in Germany come from its presses. In this latter industry it is, however, quite outstripped by Leipzig, where about five hundred publishers have their offices and works. Next to Berlin, Leipzig is the most important trading town in Germany. 14. Most of the present German Empire belonged more than a thousand j-ears ago to the empire of Charles the Great. When that empire fell to pieces, Germany became split up into hundreds of powerless fragments, each with its own ruler. Some of the separate states only consisted of villages. 15. When Napoleon became master of Europe, he joined together the thirty-eight western states of Ger- many into a sort of union. They were not really SOME GERMAN TOWNS. 189 united, though every one saw that if Germany was ever to be great and powerful she must become one state under one head. 16. Then arose a great man named Bismarck, who became chief minister to the King of Prussia. He was able to raise and eciuip a very powerful army, and when his plans were all laid, he made war on Austria, which had some states in the Union. In DRESDEN. seven weeks the Austrians were defeated, and Prussia became the chief state of Germany. 17. Another union, that of the North German states, was now formed, with Prussia at the head. Then followed the great war with France. All the German states joined Prussia, and their armies were led to victory by Prussian generals. This war bound the states together, and when peace was declared, the German Empire was firmly founded, with William of Prussia as German Emperor. (1,100) 11 190 DENMARK. 39. DENMARK.* 1. Denmark, which has about the same area as Switzerland, consists of the peninsula of Jutland and a number of islands lying to the south-east of it. The western shore of the peninsula is low, with sandy beaches and dunes ; but the eastern shore is higher, and boasts a few safe harbours for small vessels. Jutland itself is a low-lying land of heather- clad moors, sandy plains, and sluggish streams. The peninsula ends in a long, curved sand-spit, known as the Skaw. 2. Denmark commands the entrance to the Baltic Sea. Her two large islands of Funen and Zealand, which lie between the Danish coast and that of Sweden, almost block up the mouth of the Baltic, leaving only three passages for ships. 3. The Little Belt, between Funen and the penin- sula, is shallow and winding ; but the Great Belt, between Funen and Zealand, is wider and deeper. The other passage, known as the Sound, lies between Zealand and the Swedish coast. Though these chan- nels are often blocked with drifting ice in the winter time, they are rarely closed to ships for more than a few weeks at a time. 4. As Denmark has neither coal nor iron, her people can never become great manufacturers. Those who are not seafarers are farmers. Though the sandy plains, wide moorlands, and peat bogs of the west are not very fruitful, the eastern valleys are very fer- * For map, see p. 229. DENMARK. 191 ISin^borg tile. Here, and in the islands, rye, oats, barlej^ and wheat are grown. 5. The climate is too damp to be really good for corn-growing ; but the pasture-land is very good, and Denmark rears large herds of cattle. Poultry-keeping and horse-breeding are also very important sources of income. There is always a ready market in Britain for Danish eggs and butter. Every year Denmark sends to England no less than a million hun- dredweight of butter and one hundred and sixty millions of eggs ! 6. Copenhagen, the capital and the seat of government, is the only large town. The name, which means Merchants' Haven, tells us some- thing of the history of the place. About the time that Norman William conquered England, the Bishop of Roskilde built a castle to protect a small village on a harbour near the Sound from the attacks of the pirates who at that time harried the north-western shores of Europe. 7. Thus protected, the village grew, and in about two hundred years became a town. Merchants sent their ships to its fine harbour, and the trade of the place became so important, that in the year 1443 192 DENMARK, the King of Denmark lixed his court at what had at first been only the " Mercliants' Haven." Though Copenhagen has been frequently burnt down, and has been twice bombarded by British guns, it is still a beautiful and interesting place. 8. On the shore at the narrowest part of the Sound is Elsinore. The mainland of Sweden is only two and a half miles away. Here, until the j^ear 1857, every foreign ship coming through the Sound had to salute the Danish flag and pay a toll. Often the channel was crowded with ships waiting to pay before the Danes would let them enter or leave the Baltic. In 1857, however, the chief Powers of Europe paid Den- mark four million pounds to do away with the tolls. 9. To Denmark belongs the large island of Iceland, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Though it is a wild, desolate land of rugged hills and vast snowfields, its people love it, and say, " Iceland is the best land on which the sun shines." Unfortunately, the sun does not shine on Iceland very often. 1 0. A part of the island is within the Arctic Circle, and there the longest summer day and the longest winter night each last just a week. The country is covered with lava, which has been thrown out in a molten state by volcanoes. The best known volcano is Hekla, which is a huge mass of basalt and lava twelve miles round. 11. Throughout the country are many strange hot springs, known as geysers. The water of these geysers is clear and pure, and is sometimes shot up into the air to the height of one hundred feet. DENMARK. 193 The Great Geyser throws up a column of water and steam to twice that height. Earthquakes are com- mon, and have done much damage. 12. The Icelanders live on the coast and in the lowland valleys. The men are great fishermen, and the women knit stockings and mitts in great num- bers. The people love learning, and every child is well taught. They still read the old songs, or sagas, A SCENE IN ICKL.'iND. which their Norse forefathers sang in praise of their heroes. 13. " The brave Danes are the brothers, and should never be the enemies, of the English," wrote Nelson to the Crown Prince of Denmark after the battle of Copenhagen. This is true, for the Danes are of the same race as the tribes which settled in England and in course of time became the English people At one time the kinoes of Denmark were also kintr.s of Nor- 194 "the land of windmills." way, the south of Sweden, and Denmark. Up to the seventeenth century Denmark was very powerful. 14. In that century, however, she lost her hold on Sweden, and early in the nineteenth century Norway was taken away from her. In 1864 she also lost the provinces of Slesvig and Holstein, which are now part of Germany. Tliough Denmark has become one of the smallest countries in Europe, she is well-to-do, and her people are peaceful and con- tented. Our Queen Alexandra is a daughter of the reigning King of Denmark. 40. "THE LAND OF WINDMILLS." 1. We now come to the Netherlands, or Low Countries, which occupy the delta of the Rhine. In early ages the Rhine and the Meuse carried down vast quantities of sand, grit, gravel, and loam in their waters. As the streams were checked in their flow by the sea their loads of dirt were dropped, and mud and sand banks were formed. 2. The rivers then had to find their way to the sea by many and ever-changing mouths. In the course of centuries the deposits of these rivers thrust back the sea, and formed new lands. Thus Holland and Belgium are largely formed out of the Alps and the soil of Germany. 3. The greatest enemy which the Dutch have to face is the sea. Large tracts of the country, as we have already read, are at a lower level than the sea, THE LAND OF WINDMILLS. 195 Each square is 100 7niUs. MAP OF HOLLAND AND BELGIUM. and the land itself is deeply trenched by a large number of river-mouths. In winter, when the furious wind blows in from the sea, great waves are driven up these river-mouths. 4. The land through which the rivers flow is so flat that the banks of the streams, unless raised and made strong, would soon be overtopped by the waves, 196 "the land of windmills." or pierced in a weak spot by the force of the rushing water. Then the land would be drowned, and cattle, trees, houses, and human beings would be swept away as though they w^ere matchwood. 5. The coasts, too, are very low, and if thej' were not protected by dikes as high as a house and several hundred feet thick, the sea at high tide w^ould rush in and flood the country for miles. Thus the low- h'ing land and the broad river-mouths are the two chief dangers to be avoided. 6. Ice is another enemy. In wdnter the Rhine and the Meuse are frozen over, and often the ice is many feet thick. When spring comes this thick ice breaks into great blocks, and is swept down to the sea. Sometimes it jams, and is piled high in the stream, and then the surrounding country is flooded. When the ice-jam gives w^ay, the pent-up waters overwhelm everything in their wild rush. 7. For centuries the Dutch have had to wage war against these dangers, and this has taught them to be a brave, patient, and hard-working people. Only by constant care and watchfulness can they keep the dikes and the river-banks in order. A tiny hole, if neglected, would soon become a breach through wdiich the sea, like an invading army, would rush in and spread I'uin over the land. 8. Many square miles of marsh and fen have been turned into good farming land in the following way. A low-ljnng tract of land is surrounded with dikes or with piles of wood whicli are driven into the ground, and the space between them is flUed wnth clay or stone. THE LAND OF WINDMILLS. 197 which has to be brought from Norway or Sweden for the purpose. By this means the water from the sea and the drainage from the higher ground arc prevented from rushing in. Then the water within the enclosed space is pumped out and led away, and another fertile plain has been won from the devouring waters. These tracts of reclaimed land are called polders. THE DIKES. 9. A great feature in Dutch scenery is the network of canals which covers the country. The canals in many cases are higher than the land, and, like the rivers, are only kept within bounds by embankments. They are of all sizes — some wide, some narrow — and they are found in almost all parts of the country. 10. They are most important highways, and in 198 THE LAND OF WINDMILLS. summer they are covered with boats and barges carrying goods and passengers. In winter, when the water is frozen for weeks together, everybody skates, and the canals and rivers are aHve with gliding figures. Men skate to their work, women to market, and chil- dren to school. Skating races are common on the long, straight canals. 11. The Dutch are the cleanest people in Europe, A DUTCH LANDSCAPE. and the housewives are always engaged in washing, scouring, and polishing. The roads and houses are all carefully kept, and Dutch farms and gardens are perfect models of order. Even the cow-houses are kept neat and clean, and sometimes have tiled walls and sanded floors. The outsides of the dwelling- houses are painted with bright colours, blue and green and red. IN HOLLAND. 199 1 2. A Dutch landscape, if tame, is very interesting. The fields are green with tall, rich grass, and are dotted with herds of pretty black-and-white cows. In the midst of the fields we may see the masts and sails of ships and barges which are making their way along the canals. 13. Everywhere we see windmills, with their great arms always going round and round. Most of these windmills work the pumps which drain the flat lands of the rain and other water which settles on them. 14. The men wear short bluejackets, and trousers so wide and baggy as to seem laughable to the British visitor. Most of the Dutch peasants wear wooden shoes, which make a consta^nt clang on the pavements of the towns. The peasant women on Sundays and other holidays wear strange head-dresses adorned with golden plates and ornaments shaped like corkscrews. 41. IN HOLLAND. 1. Though the Dutch are so hard-working, they are not manufacturers, as their country provides them with neither coal nor iron. Their damp soil, how- ever, produces excellent pasture and vegetables of all kinds. The Dutch are great gardeners, and the bulbs which they grow in large quantities are everywhere famous. 2. The Dutch are also a seafaring race. Though they have few manufactures, they have a large ex- port trade, in which dairy produce, cattle, and meat 200 IN HOLLAND. play an important part. In addition to their own commerce, the Dutch ships do a great deal of fetching and carrying for other nations. They have a number of colonies in the East Indies, and from these they import sugar, tea, coftee, and spices. 3. The capital of the kingdom is the Hague, which has been described as the " largest village in Europe." It stands two miles from the North Sea, and is a very handsome place, with fine buildings, and many canals bor- dered by leafy lime-trees. In the centre of the city is the Vijver, or Fish-pond, and near to it is an old castle in which the Dutch Parliament sits. Beautiful roads lead from the Hague to the bathing -place of Scheveningen, which is crowded with visitors during the summer months. 4. Amsterdam, the chief town, is nearly as large as Birmingham. It stands amidst polders, and has been called " The Venice of the North," because it is built on a multitude of swampy islands connected by hundreds of bridges. Almost the whole city is perched on piles of pine wood, driven forty or DTTCH ri>HlXi IN HOLLAND. 201 fifty feet through soft peat and sand into firm clay. 5. There are canals everywhere, and church towers, spires, masts of ships, chimneys, and trees seem to be mixed up in a bewildering manner. Unlike Venice, Amsterdam has many industries, one of the most interesting being the cutting and polishing of dia- monds. Ships sailing to and from Amsterdam have no need now to navi- gate the shoaly waters of the dangerous Zuy- der Zee. A ship canal connects it with the North Sea at Wyk. 6. Rotterdam, the chief seaport, is one of the most important trade centres on the Continent. It stands on both sides of the Meuse, some twenty miles from its mouth, and half the vessels that enter the ports ™^ montalban towek, Amsterdam. of Holland load and discharge their cargoes at its busy quays. Its chief trade is in the products of the Dutch East Indies. Haarlem, like most Dutch towns, is crossed and re-crossed by canals bordered by trees. It is famous for its large nursery gardens, which grow bulbs in vast numbers. 7. At one time Holland was part of the vast 202 IX HOLLAND. empire of Charles the Great. Later on, the land became split up amongst dukes, counts, lords, and bishops, who ruled over petty states like little kings. Gradually, however, these states became united into groups. Towards the end of the fourteenth century the Duke of Burgundj- became Earl of Flanders, and his son Philip managed to make himself King of the Netherlands. 8. After Philip came his son Charles, who on the death of his mother became King of Spain as well. He was a harsh ruler, but under him Holland increased in wealth and power. His son, Philip the Second, was a most cruel, cowardly man. He was a thorough Spaniard, and did not try to understand his Dutch subjects. Because they did not believe in the teach- ings of his Church, he put to death no fewer than one hundred thousand Dutchmen. 9. The people rose against him, and thus began a long and most bitter struggle, which did not end until the Dutch had thrown off the Spanish yoke and had made themselves free. The chief leader of the Dutch was William the Silent, Prince of Orange, who was governor of one of the Dutch provinces. Time after time he was defeated ; but the Dutch never lost heart, though they were reduced to great straits. 10. Once they actually had to cut the dikes and claim the help of their old enemy the sea to drive off the Spaniards. At last, however, a Dutch republic was formed, with William at its head : but before the country was rid of the Spaniards, William was shot by a villain in the pay of Philip. THE COCKPIT OF EUROPE. 203 11. This was a great blow to the Dutch ; but they were by no means cast down. They elected William's son as head of the republic, and continued the war. Philip died, and then there was a twelve years' truce, during which Holland grew so rich and powerful that Spain no longer dared to attack her. Thus Holland became free. She is now a kingdom, and is ruled in much the same way as our own country. BATTLEFIELDS OP BELGIUM. 42. "THE COCKPIT OF EUROPE." 1. Between Holland and France lies the small but wealthy country of Belgium. It is only one and a half times as large as Wales, and has only forty-two miles of low and sandy coast. The eastern part of the country contains a few low ranges of forest-clad 204 " THE COCKPIT OF EUROPE." hills, that enter Belgium from France. Elsewhere the country is flat. 2. The west and north-west, which might be called the garden of Belgium, are very like Holland. We see the same dikes and sand-dunes, on which slender pines sway to and fro in the keen ocean breeze. We see, too, the same green pastures, crossed in all direc- tions by silvery canals, and the same rich crops. 3. Belgium has more people to the square mile than any other European state : in fact, a king of Spain, who once travelled through the country, said that it was merely one great town. That was many years ago, and the Belgian towns have since then grown still larger. 4. The Belgians are a very hard-working people, and as their country is rich in coal and iron, they run a very close race with the British as iron and steel manufacturers. Belgium, too, makes the finest of lace, and her cloths and woollen stuffs are of very good quality. 5. The Belgian farms are very small, sometimes no bigger than an English field, but they are so care- fully tilled that every foot of ground produces some- thing. Indeed, many of the farms are little more than market-gardens. A narrow strip of pasture surrounds each farm, and small boys may be seen tending the cows as they feed on these narrow borders of grass. The spade is used instead of the plough, and so much grain is produced that Belgium is able to send large quantities abroad. 6. The Belgians can be merry as well as hard- il\i HOLLAND AND BELGIUM, 206 " THE COCKPIT OF EUROPE." working, and Brussels, their capital, is sometimes called Little Paris, because it is one of the gayest cities in Europe. It was in Brussels that the famous ball was held on the evening before the first of the two great battles in which the British and the Prussians beat the French and overthrew the power of Napoleon. 7. Belgium has been called "the cockpit of Europe," because so many pitched tights have been fought on its plains. The greatest battle of all was fought at Waterloo, twelve miles from Brussels. The battlefield is now a beautiful stretch of orchards and meadows. Everything is green and smiling, and it seems as if peace had always reigned on the plain. There are a number of monuments on the field to remind us of the great fight. 8. In one place there is now a huge mound with a figure of a lion on the top of it. In order to get earth for this mound, some of the slopes wliich en- abled the British to resist the French were altered. The Duke of Wellington was so angry when he saw what had been done, that he said he would never visit the field again. 9. Brussels is a fine city, with noble buildings, museums, picture galleries, and a great central street which runs from north to south. The town hall, which was built in the fifteenth century, has a lofty spire topped by a statue which serves as a weather- vane. In the square in front of the town hall is a market-place. Here we may see the Flemish women in their white caps and large gold earrings. THE COCKPIT OF EUROPE. 207 and notice the dogs which draw the little carts to and fro. 10. Antwerp, on the Scheldt, sixty miles from the sea, is one of the chief ports of Europe. It is famous for its grand churches, and for the beautiful pictures which they contain. Belgium has had many great painters, and Antwerp was the home of Rubens, one of the greatest artists who ever lived. His tomb may still be seen in Antwerp Cathedral, which pos- AXTWERP FROM TRE SCHELDT. sesses some of his finest pictures. The bell of the cathedral is so heavy that it is said to take sixteen men to ring it. 1 1. Ghent, " the Manchester of Belgium," has, of course, large cotton factories. Not only does it stand at the confluence of two large rivers, the Scheldt and the Lys, but it is cut up by numerous canals, and these various waterways divide it into about twenty- seven islands, connected by many bridges. It is a quaint, old - fashioned town, with many ancient churches and other beautiful buildings. ,^ 208 THE COCKPIT OF EUROPE. 1 2. Liege, the Belgian Birmingham, owns one of the largest cannon foundries in the world. Nature meant the plain on which the city stands to be beauti- ful ; but coal is abundant, and the whole neighbour- hood has been turned into a sort of " Black Country,'"' CATHEDRAL AND RUBENS bTATUE, ANTWERP. full of smoking chimneys and blast furnaces. Liege supplies firearms to almost all tlie countries in the world ; but this is only one of its many trades, for, like other Belgian towns, it is a perfect hive of workers. 13. Bruges, which has a canal leading to the coast, is a grand old city, which has now seen its best days. THE SURFACE OF RUSSIA. 209 Once It was a great trading-place ; now it is visited by people who love old buildings and pictures. The chief object in the place is an old belfry or watch- tower, which stands in the market-place, and affords a line view from the top. It has forty-eight bells, which vary in tone from the sweetest little treble to the deepest bass. Every fifteen minutes the chimes ring, and every hour they play a tune. The chimes of Bruges are the finest in Europe. 14. The history of Belgium up to 1570 is chiefly that of its neighbour Holland. After that time the Belgian provinces passed into the hands of the kings of Holland. Early in the nineteenth century they formed part of the French Republic. They were afterwards united to Holland ; but the bond was broken in 1830, and Belgium became an independent country. It is ruled by a king and two houses of parliament. 43. THE SURFACE OF RUSSIA. 1. We now turn to the largest country on the face of the globe — the vast empire of Russia. One-sixth of all the land on the globe is ruled by the Czar, but the greater part of this wide expanse is in Asia. Russia in Europe occupies the eastern part of the great plain which stretches across the Continent from the North Sea to far beyond the Urals. It is ten times as large as France, and includes more than half the whole continent of Europe. 2. From the frozen bays of the Arctic Ocean to 210 THE SURFACE OF RUSSIA. the desert shores of the Caspian Sea, Russia is one vast plain. The northern part of the country consists of bleak flats and marshes, and is known as the Tundra. During winter the snow-covered ground is frozen as hard as iron. RELIEF MAP OF RUSSIA. 3. In spring the snow melts ; but as the ground remains frozen a little way below the surface, the Tundra then becomes a vast shallow swamp covered with Arctic mosses, coarse grass, and a few berry- bearing shrubs. In summer it is bright with flowers ; but it is still uncomfortable, for swarms of stinging mosquitoes are found everywhere. THE SURFACE OF RUSSIA. 211 4. The north-western part of Russia is a maze of lakes, rocks, and marshes. In this country of Fin- land there is " water, water everywhere," and it is possible to sail from one lake to another, and so traverse the country from end to end. The water MAP OF RUSSIA. surface of Finland is greater than the area of Den- mark. 5. Scattered over what little land there is are huge blocks of stone, which in times long past were brought to Finland by the glaciers which once ploughed their way over the country. Many of the stones are so large that the peasants build houses in their shelter. 212 THE SURFACE OF RUSSIA. Finland has large forests of pine and fir, and is the home of the bear, wolf, fox, and beaver. 6. Further south the Tundra gives place to huge forests of birch, larch, and silver fir. So unbroken is this forest region that it is said a squirrel can travel hundreds of miles without coming to earth. These forests, in turn, make way for rich corn land and the rolling plain called the Steppe, which in spring and early summer is carpeted with grass and flowers. In a few weeks, however, the burning sun parches up every green thing, and long before summer is ended the Steppe is covered with thick dust, and is little better than a desert. 7. The corn land is found in a broad belt of country which stretches from the valley of the river Dnieper to the foot of the Urals. It is covered with rich mould sometimes thirty feet deep, and is known as the " Black Earth Region." Wheat, fruit-trees, and grass grow splendidly in this region, and two crops of grain are often gathered in a year. This corn is floated down the rivers to the Black Sea or Baltic ports in flat-bottomed boats, the voyage often lasting several months. 8. When the snows of October begin to fall, hungry wolves come out of their hiding-places, and prowl about in search of food. Travelling, which in summer was merely wearisome, now becomes dangerous, not only on account of the wolves, but because every track and landmark is hidden. Travellers are sometimes so hard pressed by the wolves that they are obliged to cut loose one of their horses. While the hungry THE SURFACE OF RUSSIA. 213 beasts are busy devouring it the travellers often make their escape. 9. If we look at a map of Russia, we shall see that the rivers spread over the broad plain like the veins of a leaf. The largest streams rise in the low range A RUSSIAN FOREST. of the Valdai Hills, and amongst them is " Mother Volga," the largest and longest river in Europe. 10. The river begins humbly by flowing out of a peat-moss and then through a number of lakes. On leaving the last of the lakes the Volga is a broad, smoothly-flowing stream, and, apart from the rail- ways, forms the great highway of the country. 214 "mother VOLGA." 44. "MOTHER VOLGA." 1. Many feeders join " Mother Volga," which now flows eastward to the town of Nijni -Novgorod, where it is joined by the Oka, a river of almost equal size. At its confluence the Oka is almost a mile in width. Nijni-Xovgorod is a town which is almost deserted for the greater part of the year. For six weeks in summer, however, it wakes up, and becomes full of life and bustle. 2. A great fair is held on a strip of ground be- tween the Volga and the Oka, and is attended by a strange medley of people from almost all parts of Europe and Asia. Chinamen, Persians, Turks, East Indians, Germans, Frenchmen, and Russians crowd to this fair to buy and sell goods of all kinds. 3. Here are sheepskin overcoats, books, pictures, boots, brasses, Russian tea-urns, knives, lanterns, and a hundred other things ; there are carpets, silken goods, and heaps of gems, cut and uncut. Salted fish, tea, and dried fruit are on sale almost every- where. A great deal of the trade of Russia is carried on at the fairs of Xijni-Novgorod and oth£r places. 4. The sio-nal for the closing of the fair is the hauling down of two white flags from the stone posts before the house in which the governor lives. Then the four or five hundred thousand people who have come together from almost all the corners of the earth set off" homeward. Let us join a partj^ of merchants who are now departing, and travel with them down the Volcra as far as Astraklian. "mother VOLGA," 215 5. Our steamer glides along the river, and we notice that its left bank is low and sandy, while its right is high and wooded. On the shores we see women towing small boats, and gangs of savage- looking men hauling barges heavily laden with iron goods. In autumn the river is at its lowest, and then steamers frequently run aground. Captains sometimes take passengers free at this season, on condition that they will jump out and push behind when the steamer is stuck on the mud. 6. As we sail on we notice that few towns and villages are built on the river bank. The reason is plain when we learn that in the springtime the Volga is forty -five feet deeper than it is in autumn. When the snows melt the river is brimming full, and then great floods spread over the surrounding country. 7. Now the Volga receives on the left bank the broad stream of the Kama. Up this stream bands of workmen travel to the mining town of Perm, near the Urals. The dreary pathway to Siberia begins at the head-waters of the Kama. This road has been trodden by many thousands of poor men and women doomed to spend the rest of their lives in the wretched prisons or convict mines of that cheerless land. 8. Just before we reach the confluence of the Kama we pass Kazan, which stands three miles from the stream, except during floods, when the great river spreads over the plain and reaches the base of the little hill upon which the town stands. There is a 216 MOTHER VOLGA. university in the place, and the people are busily emploj^ed in manufactures. 9. Soon after leaving Kazan the river sweeps southward, and after a joui-ney of more than three hundred miles reaches Saratov, the largest city of the lower Volga. Saratov has many factories and much river trade. 10. On we sail for another two hundred miles or AN OIL FOUNTAIN AT BAKU. more, and then the river flows towards the south- east, to empt}^ itself by many mouths into the Caspian Sea. At the head of the delta we see the spires and gilded domes of Astrakhan. It is an in- teresting city, crossed by many canals, which are crowded with the shipping of the Volga. 11. The trade of Astrakhan is chie% in two "the czar's window." 217 articles. One of them can easily be guessed from the name of the town. Astrakhan is not reall}^ a fur, but the wool of young lambs treated in a special way. It is made in Persia and other countries of Asia, and the black, gray, and white fleeces from which it is made are sent across the Caspian Sea to Astrakhan, whence they are exported to Western Europe and America. 12. The other great article of export is oil, which is obtained in vast quantities at Baku, near the eastern end of the Caucasus mountains. The oil wells of Baku yield hundreds of thousands of gallons of petroleum every year. 13. In November 1901 an oil well was tapped, and at once began to spout out streams of oil, which flooded the whole district. So suddenly did it gush that the ground around was soaked, and all work in the neighbourhood had to be stopped. The Russians are now laying down a pipe six hundred miles long to carry a river of oil from Baku to the Black Sea. At present it is taken in large tank steamers to Astrakhan. 45. "THE CZAR'S WINDOW." 1. The best ruler that Russia ever had was Peter the Great. When he became Czar his country was very backward, and his people were little better than savages. Peter saw that if ever Russia was to be rich and powerful she must possess ships and sea- coast, and become a trading nation. Now Russia at 218 *' THE czar's window." this time had very httle seaboard, and her people did not understand the art of building ships. 2. Peter threw off his royal robes, put on a work- man's jacket, and became a ship carpenter in Amsterdam, which at that time was famous for its shipbuilding yards. He also worlced in English dockyards, and was often heard to say that if he TETEK THE GREAT. were not Czar of Russia he would try to be a British admiral. 3. When Peter returned home he taught his people all that he had learned, and Russia soon possessed a fleet of ships. The next thing needed was sea-coast, and Peter went to war to get it. He fought the Swedes, and won from them the shores of what is now called the Gulf of Finland. THE CZAR S WINDOW. 219 '^'^A^eJies ARMENIA 4, Russia's great want even now is a large number of seaports as outlets for her produce. She has the White Sea in the north, the Baltic Sea in the north- west, and the Black Sea to the south. The White Sea, as we have already learned, is useless for nine months of the year, and the Baltic coast is blocked by ice for nearly half the year. The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov alone are nearly always ice-free, but they are cut off from the ocean by a number of straits belonging to other countries. 5. If Turkey said, " You shan't pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles," Russian ships, with their cargoes of grain, hemp, linseed, and many other things, would be unable to leave the Black Sea. This explains why Russia covets the city of Constantinople, and why she is making ports on the Pacific Ocean and joining them to the chief 220 "the czar's window." towns of Russia in Europe by the great Siberian Railway. 6. When Peter had got a strip of sea-coast and a navy, he began to build a city which should be " the Czar's window looking out into Europe." He built this city at the mouth of the short but broad river Neva, which flows to the Gulf of Finland from Lake Ladoga, a sheet of water larger than Denmark. 7. The land by the mouth of the Neva was a swamp, but Peter was not stopped by that. Millions of piles had to be driven into the marshy ground, and thou- sands of workmen died of fever in carrying out the work ; but the Czars iron will was carried into effect, and St. Petersburg arose. 8. The city has straight, broad streets and hand- some buildings. The finest street in the capital is the Nevsky Prospect, which is more than three miles long and a hundred feet wide. The Winter Palace of the Czars, and the wonderful cathedrals of St. Isaac and Kazan, stand in this street ; and at the end of it is the Admiralty building, with a lofty gilt spire, crowned with a golden ship. 9. The streets of the city are crowded with droskies drawn by two or three horses. The drosky is a low carriage with a seat for two persons, and a higher perch for the driver, who is clad in a long coat of dark-blue or green cloth. Over the head of the middle horse there is a wooden arch or bow, to which most of the harness is attached. 10. In winter, sledges take the place of wheeled carriages. A sledge ride is most exciting. The THE CZAR S WINDOW. 221 horses dash alon^ at a great speed through the keen frosty air, while the coachman cries " Faster ! faster ! " to his wilHng steeds, and cracks his whip with a noise like a pistol-shot over their heads. 1 1 . The people of St. Petersburg are very proud of the Neva, which is crowded with shipping in summer, and is frozen from five to seven feet thick in winter. When the ice breaks up there is much rejoicing. THE NiOWSKV rUOSPECT. Cannon are fired, and an officer sets out in a boat to cross to the Winter Palace, where the Czar lives. 1 2. No matter at what hour of the day or night he arrives, he is at once shown into the presence of the Czar, to whom he presents a goblet filled with the ice-cold water of the Neva, thus giving notice that the river is open for trade once more. The Czar drinks to the city, and then the goblet is "filled with silver coins and handed back to the officer. 222 LIFE IN RUSSIA. 46. LIFE IN RUSSIA. 1. Moscow, the ancient capital, is almost in the centre of Russia, and in it all the roads and railways of the country meet. In the centre of the town is the Kremlin, which consists of cathedrals, palaces, chapels, and towers, surrounded by a lofty gray wall. Many of the buildings are topped by domes of all sizes and shapes, richly carved and painted. By the side of one of the towers is the " king of bells," the largest in the world. It fell from the tower, and lay in a ruined state for a hundred years. 2. Moscow itself is not a fine city, for its beau- tiful churches and handsome houses stand side by side with low and dirty hovels. Moscow was burned down at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and has not yet been wholly rebuilt. In the year 1812 Russia was invaded by the French, who pushed on to Moscow, where they expected shelter and rest dur- ing the loner Russian winter. 3. As Napoleon's men entered the city black smoke and spurts of flame arose from the houses. The Russians had deserted Moscow, but before doing so they had set tire to it. The flames spread, and Napoleon was forced to retreat. The country had been laid waste, the snow was deep, and the frost was bitter. Of the five hundred thousand soldiers who entered the country, only twenty-five thousand returned to France. 4. Life in " Holy Russia," as the great country is sometimes called, is very difierent from life in LIFE IN RUSSIA. 223 Britain. Russia has no parliament, and the people have no voice in making the laws and in voting- the taxes. No one is really free in Russia. People may not read books or newspapers which point out TOWEK OF IVAN VELIKI (SHOWING THE GKEAT BELI,). the wrong-doing of the government ; and for what we should call slight ofiences, or no offences at all, men and women are seized and put in prison. 5. Many Russians are not satisfied with the form PICTURES OF RUSSIA. LIFE IN RUSSIA. 225 of government under which they hve. Plots against the Czar and his officers are constantly being made, and some of the plotters actually commit murder, in the hope of bringing about a better state of things. Three attempts were made on the life of the Czar Alexander the Second, and in 1881 a Nihilist threw a bomb at him. The bomb exploded, and the Czar was so badly hurt that he died a few hours afterwards. 6. Up to the middle of last century the peasants in Russia were serfs or slaves. They belonged to the nobles, and could not leave the estates of their masters without leave. In the year 1861 Alexander the Second set free twenty-three millions of them, and now they can move from -place to place as tliey please. At the present time they are very ignorant, and not one child in six goes to school. 7. The villages in which these peasants live are formed of small wooden cabins with an earthen floor. Round the walls are small bunks in which the children sleep, and filling up a large part of the room is a great stove, on the flat top of which the parents make their beds. Fires are very common, and when one breaks out, it is very likely that every house in the village will be burnt down. Every year the " red cook," as the Russians call the fire, sweeps away hundreds of villages. 8. Russian peasants are very wild and savage looking. They dress in sheepskins ; their hair is long and shaggy ; they are dirty and noisy, but they are also good-natured and friendly. They live chiefly on cabbage soup and black bread made of rye. (1,100) 13 226 LIFE IN RUSSIA. 9. Before leaving the peasants of Russia, we must say a word about the Finns and the Cossacks. The Finns live in Finland, which lies to the north of the gulf of the same name. As we already know, it is a land of forests, marshes, lakes, and rivers. When the Russians won Finland from Sweden, they prom- ised that it should have self-government. They have not kept faith, however, with the Finns, and .^m&^A.HMi^.iM A RUSSIAN (iMXIBUS. the country is now ruled as part of Russia. The people are chiefly engaged in growing corn and pota- toes, felling trees, and burning charcoal. 10. The Cossacks are a roving people, living on the steppes in the south-east and east of Russia, They are the finest horsemen in the world, and many thousands of them serve in the Russian army. They are splendid scouts, and they swoop down on the enemy swiftly and silently. THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA. 227 11. The well-to-do people of the Russian towns live in houses, with double windows to keep out the bitter cold of the long winter. On every table is a samovar or tea-urn, and at all hours of the da}^ it is in use, for tea is the national drink of Russia. It is served in glasses without milk, and with only a little sugar. A Russian thinks nothing of drinking ten or twelve glasses of tea at a sitting. 12. The Russians are great eaters. Amongst the dainties found on their tables is caviare. This is made from the salted roe of the sturgeon, which abounds in the Volga and in the Caspian Sea. Stur- geon have been caught which measure twenty-five feet in length. Their air-bladders yield isinglass, which produces a kind of gelatine. 47. THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA. 1. Taking the Alps as our point of departure, we have now dealt with all the countries of Europe except the two which occupy the Scandinavian peninsula. This peninsula is about three times the size of Great Britain, and consists of a vast table-land. 2. In the east and south it is not very high, but towards the west the land gradually rises to a huge ridge of ancient rocks near the west coast. This ridge runs through the country from north to south, and forms the main water-parting, and, for a great part of its length, the boundary between Norway and Sweden. 228 THE SCANDIXAV^IAX PENINSULA. BELIEF MAP OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN. 3. Many of the heights in this range exceed eight thousand feet, and are covered with glaciers, which descend the narrow valleys sometimes to the water's edge. Roaring torrents leap down the mountain sides in rugged gorges, and gleaming lakes are found everywhere. 4. Most of the land in Norway is bare rock, and of no use for tillage, though manj' of the lower mountain slopes are covered with pine woods. These trees are felled on the mountain sides, and the trunks are thrown into the nearest stream to be carried down THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA. 229 MAP OF NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND DENMARK. to the coast. There the streams which have brought down the logs drive the sawmills in which they are fitted for the carpenter's workshop. 5. Fishing is a most important industry of Norway. In fact, as meat is scarce, and vegetables, except in the south of the peninsula, do not grow well, fish is a general article of food. Cheese, too, is largely eaten ; and in Norway it is not unusual to see several differ- ent kinds of cheese even on the breakfast-table. A Norwegian breakfast is not unlike an English dinner, with bread, butter, and jam instead of pudding. 230 THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA. 6. As there is very little fertile ground in Norway, not a scrap of it is wasted. If it will grow nothing else, it will generally produce grass, and this grass, even if it only covers a space a little larger than a good-sized dining-table, is carefully mowed. When the grass plots are high up on a mountain, the hay is tied in bundles, and sent flying down a wire rope to the valley ; or if, as sometimes happens, they are in lower ground where the soil is wet or swampy. BERGEN, THE FISH the hay when cut is carefully arranged on wooden hurdles, in order that it may dry properly. 7. The Scandinavians, who are of the same race as the English, are brave, hardly, freedom-loving people. To us they perhaps seem rather slow ; there are so few railways and telegraphs in their country that they have not yet learned to hurry and bustle through their daily work. 8. They seem to consider friendliness a duty, and the children are taught from their earliest years to be THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA. 231 kind and pleasant. The smallest gift offered to a child or a beggar wins grateful thanks and a hearty handshake. If a stranger enters a country church, those around him at once offer their hands in welcome. 9. To British eyes a Scandinavian house does not look very comfortable. There is no open fireplace, but a stove, shaped like a " grandfather's clock." Furni- ture, except in the homes of wealthy people, is scarce, and everything — walls and floor, as well as furniture CAPITAL OF THE NORTH. — is of plain wood. To enter such a house for the first time gives one something like the feeling of walk- ing into a large light cupboard. The roofs are often covered with earth, on which grow moss and flowers, and sometimes even a tree or two. 10. Norwegian farming people spend three months of the year on the sceters or mountain pastures. When summer comes, the farmers drive their oxen, goats, and sheej) to these green meadows, and those who look after the cattle sleep and have their meals in 232 THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA. rough wooden huts. It is no uncommon sight to see cows grazing almost on the edge of a glacier, and cooling themselves amidst the snow and ice. 11. During the long winter the outdoor life of Norway is much like that of Russia. The Norwe- gians delight especially in darting about on ski* or snow-skates. Ski are slips of light, thin wood about six feet in length, and about as broad as the sole of the boot. They curve up at each end, and are fas- tened to the foot by loops of leather. On these the Norwegians cross the snow very swiftly. 12. The capital of Norway is Christiania, which stands at the head of a fjord forming a splendid harbour. Around the city are tree-clad hills, and within it are wide, well-paved streets and handsome buildings. The only noisy place in Christiania is the fish-market, during the early morning. The boats sail up to the stone pavement of the market, and the fishermen cry their wares at the top of their voices. 13. Bergen, on the west coast, was once the first, but is now the second town in the country. It is the centre of the fishing trade in Northern Europe, and has been so from olden times. It has ancient churches, a royal hall, a fine old tower, and of course a very busy fish-market. Steamers sail from the port to the Baltic, Hamburg, Rotterdam, NeM^castle, and New York. Every year something like half a million barrels of herrings and twenty thousand barrels of cod-liver oil are exported, in addition to other fish valued at half a million pounds. * Pronounced she. SWEDEN. 233 48. SWEDEN. 1. Eastward of the great ridge of the Scandinavian mountains the country of Sweden descends in ter- races to the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. Sweden is much less rugged than the sister country of Norway ; it is more fertile ; its rivers are much longer, and many of them broaden out into lakes as they flow to the sea. 2. The Swedes are chiefly farmers and lumbermen. They are a busy people, and have long been famed for their industries. The country abounds in rivers, and the force of these flowing streams is used to float down timber to the ports, and to drive saw-mills and electro-motors. Sweden is also an important mining country. Copper is mined at Falun, on the river Dal, and elsewhere there are rich iron mines, from which the famous Swedish steel is made. 3. It is easy to travel in Sweden ; for the roads are excellent, and the many natural waterways have been connected by canals so as to form a network of navi- gable waters all over the land. The chief canal in the country is that which is cut through the southern part of Sweden so as to connect the Cattegat and the Baltic Sea. 4. The two largest lakes in Sweden, Lakes Wener and Wetter, lie in this part of the country. Lake Wener, the larger of the two, has some beautiful scenery on its shores. It is a hundred miles long and flfty miles wide, and steamers crossing it are often out of sight of land. By deepening the beds 234 SWEDEN. of the rivers, and by making canals to join these and other lakes, the Swedes have constructed a waterway which enables their ships to sail from the Baltic to the North Sea without passing through the waters which Denmark commands. 5. The canal commences at Norrkoping, the chief industrial town of Sweden, and runs westward from the Baltic Sea, through level fields and dark forests, to Lake Wetter. A second canal connects Lake Wetter with Lake Wener, and the remainder of the journey is down the river Gota to the Cattegat. In the course of the canal are seventy-four locks, which raise or lower the steamers from one level to another. 6. Most travellers by this canal leave the steamer while it is passing through the locks, and go on foot to see the wonderful Trollhattan Falls, by which the waters of Lake Wener dash themselves into the river Gota. The shores and the few islands among the falls are clothed with dark fir trees, and the foaming waters, as they leap down the seven steps of the fall, stun the bystanders with their roar. The falls seem to be well named ; for Trollhattan means the " home of the water-witches." 7. On the Cattegat, at the western end of the Gota Canal, is Gothenburg, the chief Swedish city on the west coast. It is a well-built city, but has not the beautiful situation of Stockholm. There are canals running through the long, straight streets, and a number of parks, which are usually thronged with people, for the Swedes love an outdoor life. 8. Stockholm, the capital, stands at the head of a SWEDEN. 235 fjord, approached through winding channels amidst wooded islands, with red-roofed towns and villages nestling amidst their trees. It is the most beautifully- placed capital in Europe, and is something like Venice; for it is built on a multitude of islands, grouped about the narrow entrance to Lake Malar. The royal palace of the king is in the city, which also boasts many other noble buildings, and a beautiful park on a neighbouring island. Stockholm is the chief industrial town of Swe- den, and its most im- portant trading-place. 9. We need not pause long over the other Swedish towns, which are mostly to be found by the sea. Upsala, to the north of Stockholm, stands in a mining dis- trict, which yields the best iron in Sweden. The mines are so cold that the water in them freezes. 10. The people of Scandinavia belong to the same 'race as the Danes. They are the tallest people in Europe, and have fair hair and blue eyes. The old sea-rovers, known as the Vikings, or dwellers on creeks and fjords, were the forefathers of the Scandinavians. You will remember that these Vikings settled in A SCANDINAVIAN PEASANT WOMAN. 236 SWEDEN. Great Britain, and also in the north of France, where they were known as Normans. 11. As early as the ninth century, Norway and Sweden were separate countries, ruled by their own kings. The Norwegians pushed westward to the British Isles, while the Swedes extended their rule toward Russia. In the thirteenth century, the Swedes gained Finland ; and at the end of the fourteenth century, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden formed a union, under the leadership of Denmark. 12. Then began a long period of struggle and warfare. Sweden broke away from this union, but Norway remained under Danish rule until 1660. Meanwhile Sweden had become the most powerful country in the north of Europe. 13. Gradually, however, the Swedish power fell away. Sweden fought with Russia, was badly beaten, and lost Finland. Then came the days of Napoleon, when there were French wars all over Europe. The emperor, who was so powerful that he could make and unmake kings, set one of his officers on the throne of Sweden. This new king soon forced Den- mark to hand Norway over to him. 14. Since that time Norway and Sweden have had one king, though they still remain two nations. Each country has its own parliament, and is quite in- dependent of the other in all home affairs. Some Norwegians wish their country to be quite independ- ent of the sister kingdom ; but Norway and Sweden ought never to be separated, for nature, in joining them together, meant them to be one country. THE BRITISH ISLES. 237 49. THE BRITISH ISLES. 1. Let us examine a map of the British Isles, and try to discover some of the ways in which England, Scotland, and Ireland differ from one another or resemble one another. First, let us look at their shape. The land mass of England and Wales is like a broken triangle, with its base along the shores of the English Channel, and its top joined to Scotland. 2. Scotland is zigzag in shape, and is divided into three parts by deep inlets of the sea. The first of these inlets is the great cleft of the Solway Firth, which almost cuts Scotland off from England. North of the Solway Firth we notice two long arms of the sea — the Firth of Forth on the east, and the Firth of Clyde on the west. These firths push their way into the land until the waters are only a day's walk apart. North, again, of this narrowest part of Scotland is another pair of still deeper inlets, which have been joined by an artificial waterway, so that the north of Scotland has become an island. 3. Ireland, we notice, is a much broader and less broken country. In shape it is something like a diamond set in the ocean. Its most northerly angle comes very near to the finger-like peninsula of Scot- land known as the Mull of Cantire. 4. Notice the coasts of England and Wales, Scot- land, and Ireland. You will observe that their western shores are more jagged and deeply indented than their eastern shores. For the most part the eastern shores consist of soft rocks, which have been 238 THE BRITISH ISLES. worn away by rain, frost, stream, and sea into a low, flat shore, broken only by the estuaries of the rivers. 5. The western coasts, on the other hand, have sunk, and the sea has " drowned " a large number of valleys, forming fjords, which run far into the land, or join together to cut off islands. The oldest and hardest rocks in our land are to be found in the north and west. 6. Now let us look at the arrangement of the mountains in the three divisions. In England, we notice that the ranges run, generally speaking, north and south, and that they lie chiefly in the west of the country. Scotland, we observe, is much more mountainous than England ; indeed, three-quarters of its surface consists of mountains. The highest ranges, as in England and Wales, lie in the west of the coun- try, and their general direction is from north-east to south-west. In Ireland the mountains lie in a broken belt round the coasts, the highest of them being, as in Scotland, England, and Wales, in the west. 7. If we turn again to England, we find that it possesses a large central plain. Nearly the whole in- terior of Ireland, within the coast ring of mountains, is likewise a plain. In Scotland, the only part of the country which is a plain lies in the valleys of the Forth and Clyde. 8. Let us now examine some of the rivers of the British Islands. The longest river of England, the Thames, flows across nearly the whole width of the country, and empties itself into a wide river-mouth on the south-eastern coast. We might compare the BELIEF 3IAP OF GKEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 240 HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. course of this river with that of the Forth, which flows eastwards into the broad Firth of Forth, on the east coast of Scotland. 9. On the south-west coast of England, almost opposite to the mouth of the Thames, is the great cleft of the Bristol Channel, into which the river Severn flows, after a long southerly course. With the Bristol Channel we might compare the Firth of Clyde. Its river, however, unlike the Severn, flows northwards to empty itself into the sea. The longest Irish river, the Shannon, may be compared with the English Severn. Like the Severn, it flows in a southerly direction, and empties itself into a broad arm of the sea on the south-western coast of Ireland. 10. Now that we have gained a few general ideas as to the shape and physical features of the Brit- ish Isles, let us turn our attention more closely to Scotland and Ireland. England and Wales we studied carefully last year. 50. HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. 1. If Scotland were sunk some five hundred feet below its present level, the sea would flow in, and part of the land would disappear. From the Firth of Clyde to the North Sea a wide strait would take the place of the land. A narrower strait would cover the country between Loch Linnhe and the Moray Firth. The low-l^ang land along the east coast would be beneath the waves ; but the southern and HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. 241 northern parts of Scotland would still rise several hundreds of feet above the sea. 2. Scotland may be divided into three distinct districts — the Highlands, the Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. More than half the whole coun- try is taken up by the Highland district, which is almost as rugged as Scandinavia and Switzerland. 3. The Lowlands form the onh^ large plain in the whole of Scotland. They cross the country from sea (1,100) 14 242 HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. to sea, between the mountain masses of the Highlands and the Southern Uplands. Though called a plain, it must not be supposed that this wide belt of country is level. Almost everywhere it is of a rolling char- acter, and is crossed by ranges of hills. 4. This plain of the Forth and Clyde is one of the busiest, richest, and most crowded parts of Great Brit- ain, and indeed of the whole world. The soil is very fertile, and is farmed with great industry and skill. Beneath the surface are rich stores of coal and iron, which enable great manufactures of woollen and cot- ton goods, machinery, and chemicals to be carried on. 5. The whole of the Southern Uplands consists of flat-topped hills, with broad, rounded shoulders and smooth, grassy slopes. High tracts of moorland con- nect these uplands of South Scotland with the Cheviot Hills, which form a low but important barrier be- tween England and Scotland. 6. The whole of the country north-west of a line drawn from the Firth of Clyde to near Aberdeen is occupied by mountain groups, and is known as the Highlands. Ages ago the Highlands were a great plateau of hard, tough rocks. Time after time this region was sunk wholly or partly beneath the sea, and time after time it was again lifted above the waves when new layers were deposited upon the old rocks. Rain, frost, and running water have carved these ancient rocks into rugged, steep masses, frown- ing high above deep valleys. 7. Some of the grandest scenery in the British Isles is found in the Highlands. Green hills with HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. 243 tracts of heather ; bare, scarred mountains, some reaching four thousand feet in height; huge crags, dashing torrents, and lakes of wondrous beauty, make the Highlands an " enchanted land." There are, how- ever, rich level tracts, such as the eastern division of Ross-shire, to be found throughout the Highlands. The county of Caithness in the extreme north-east, though included in the Highlands, is generally level. 8. One of the most striking features of the country is the long valley, known as Glen More, which extends from Loch Linnhe to Moray Firth. It contains a series of lochs, which have been joined by artificial channels to form the Caledonian Canal. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, is near to the western end of the canal. None of the Scottish hills quite reach the snow-line ; but if we search the higher clefts on the north side of Ben Nevis, we shall be almost sure to find patches of snow which lie un- melted all through the summer. 9. The most interesting portion of the Southern Grampians is the lovely stretch of country in the valley of the Teith, a tributary of the much- winding Forth. This part of Perthshire is the scene of Sir Walter Scott's famous poem, " The Lady of the Lake." It contains a series of beautiful lakes set amidst ro- mantic woodlands and hills. 10. Loch Lomond, the queen of Scottish lakes, is twenty- four miles in length, and varies from fourteen to one and a half miles in breadth. Steamers sail from end to end of it, and in the holiday season they are crowded with delighted sightseers. 244 SCOTTISH TOWNS. 51. SCOTTISH TOWNS. 1. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is said to be named after Edwin, one of the ancient kings of Northumbria who ruled as far north as the Firth of Forth. To guard his frontier, Edwin built a castle on a steep, loft}^ rock some two miles from the Forth. Around this fortress the city of Edinburgh grew up. The grand old castle still remains as one of Edin- burgh's finest show-places. 2. The Old Town consists of one long street stretch- ing from the Castle Rock to Holyrood Palace. Branch- ing off from this main street are many very narrow lanes called " closes." Some of them are barely six feet wide, and many of the houses are from six to ten stories high. 3. Overlooking the east part of the city is the lion-shaped height called Arthur's Seat. It rises 800 feet above the sea, and was once an active volcano. At its foot stands the royal palace of Holyrood, which is much visited because Mary Queen of Scots lived in it for a time, and her rooms are still to be seen almost as she left them. Close to the palace are the ruins of the abbey church of Holy Cross or Rood. 4. Edinburgh has many fine streets, squares, plea- sure grounds, and statues. Princes Street, which lies between the Old and New Towns, is a very handsome thoroughfare, with fine shops and hotels on the one side and public gardens on the other, overshadowed by the huge Castle Rock. On the south side of the MODERN ATHENS. 246 SCOTTISH TOWNS, street is a graceful sjjire in memory of Sir Walter Scott. 5. Leith, the sixth largest town of Scotland, stands on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, two miles from Edinburgh, with which it is connected by an unbroken line of streets. It is a busy, unattractive town, and has a large trade in corn, chemicals, coal, iron, and cotton goods. There are five docks in the place, and several shipbuilding yards. 6. Glasgow, which stands on the Clyde, is the largest town of Scotland, and the second largest in the British Empire. It is a modern town, w^ith fine streets, the only ancient building being the cathedral, which was erected early in the thirteenth century. 7. The industries of Glasgow are very varied. It has great cotton factories ; it manufactures silk and woollen goods on a large scale ; it has engineering workshops, metal and chemical works, potteries, glass factories, and, above all, great shipbuilding yards, where the clang of hammers seems never-ending, and iron ships slowly take shape amidst mazes of timber. 8. It is sometimes asked whether the Clyde has made Glasgow or Glasgow has made the Clyde. A hundred years ago small ships found it impossible to reach Glasgow except at spring tides. Now the Clyde has been embanked, dredged, and deepened to such an extent that vessels of over three thousand tons burden come up to the city quays. Something like ten millions of money has been spent during the last hundred years in making Glasgow a first-class seaport. 9. On the left bank of the Clyde, below Glasgow, SCOTTISH TOWNS. 247 is Greenock, which is now one of the chief ports in the country. Like Glasgow, it has a great trade with North and South America. Besides its shipbuilding yards, it possesses potteries, worsted factories, and sugar refineries. 10. On the north side of the Firth of Tay stands Dundee, the third largest city in Scotland. It is not only a great seaport, but an important manufacturing town. Jute is spun and woven in its factories in vast quantities, and Dundee ships sail to the polar seas in search of whales and seals. 11. The "Fair City" of Perth, famed for the beauty of its situation and for the many great events which have taken place in it, stands on the Tay. It was a royal burgh as far back as 1210, and at one time the capital of Scotland. Dyeing is now its chief industry. 1 2. Between the mouths of the Don and Dee stands Aberdeen, the " Granite City," so called because it is almost entirely built of the cold gray granite quarried in the neighbourhood. Formerly much of the ground now covered with wharves and warehouses was a dreary expanse of mud flats. On the reclaimed land now stands the busiest seaport and manufacturing town in the north-east of Scotland. 13. Aberdeen rejoices in an important university. A favourite excursion from Aberdeen is along the beautiful valley of the Dee as far as the Highland home of the King at Balmoral. The castle stands high up amongst the Grampians, in the midst of some of the finest mountain scenery in the British Isles. 248 THE SURFACE OF IRELAND. 52. THE SURFACE OF IRELAND. 1. In Ireland the mountain ranges flank the coast on all sides. The principal mountain centres are in Wicklow on the east, in Kerry and Cork on the south, in Galway on the west, and in Donegal on the north. The eastern side of the island is, how- ever, lower and more open than the western. This is a great advantage, for it gives the interior easy access to the coasts facing Great Britain. 2. Within this irregular rim of mountains is a vast boggy plain, crossed here and there by ridges of limestone. This wide stretch of low pasture ground is badly drained by slow -flowing rivers. Much of it is covered by swamps and bogs. One- ninth of the whole area of the country is said to be composed of wet, spongy ground, which is known as bog. The largest stretch of bog-land in the country is called the Bog of Allen. It lies east of the Shan- non, and covers some 150,000 acres. 3. The loftiest mountains are in the neighbourhood of the Lakes of Killarney. Here the peak of Cam- tual, in the range called Macgillicuddy Reeks, attains a height of nearly 3,500 feet. Seen from the lakes below, the Reeks tower up like a huge wall. From their summits glorious views may be obtained. 4. There are no lakes in Ireland, and not many in the world, to compare with those of Killarney. They are three in number — the Upper, the Middle, and the Lower — and they are all united. Around them are purple mountains, beautifully clothed with THE SURFACE OF IRELAND. 249 woods, and on their surface are delightful islands, many of which have stories to tell. Mountain, wood, and water unite to make a picture of wonderful beauty. 250 THE SURFACE OF IRELAND. 5. The coast of Ireland, like that of Scotland, is much more broken and rugged on the west than on the east. The reason for this we have already learned. This bold, rocky western shore is fringed with hun- dreds of islets. The shores of Achill Island rise 2,000 feet sheer out of the ocean, and form the finest sea walls in the British Isles. Everywhere on this coast we find cliff scenery of much variety and grandeur. The eastern coast, on the contrary, is gen- erally low and sandy, resembling in this respect the eastern coast of Great Britain. 6. The rocks in the north of Ireland show us that long ages ago volcanic action on a large scale must have gone on in the district. A large part of the county of Antrim, in the north-east of Ireland, is covered by basalt with an average thickness of a hundred feet. This bed of basalt ends in bold cliffs, which form curious headlands, such as Fair Head. 7. Fair Head, sometimes called Benmore, is 630 feet high, and is built up of great columns of basalt. From the summit of Benmore a fine view is obtained of distant Argyllshire and of the Isle of Rathlin, where Robert Bruce, the Scottish king, once took refuge in his bitter hour of defeat. 8. Westward from Fair Head is the celebrated Giants' Causeway. We are now in Giantland — at any rate, the names given to capes, bays, headlands, and cliffs would lead us to think so ; for we have in this district the Giants' Pulpit, the Giants' Organ, the Giants' Loom, the Giants' Bagpipes, the Giants' Gateway, the Giants' Theatre, and so on. IRISH TOWNS. 251 9. What we see is not very large, after all, though it is very strange and highly interesting. The basalt in cooling took the form of pillars, chiefly with six sides. If you allow thick starch to become thor- oughly dry, it will assume a somewhat similar shape, and will give you some idea of the way in which these basaltic columns were formed. Altogether there are about forty thousand of them, packed closely together, and each one complete in itself. 10. These columns form a sort of pier which juts out into the sea for nearly two hundred and fifty yards, and is known as the Giants' Causeway. The sea surrounds many of the groups of pillars, and has made irregular openings here and there. We might expect that many stories would gather round such a strange spot. One of the oldest is that a great Irish warrior made a road from Ireland to Scotland for the giants of those days to pass to and fro. 11. The people on the Scottish side, however, ob- jected to the bridge, and prayed for help to Thor the Thunderer, who heard their prayer, and sent down a mighty thunderbolt which swept away the bridge between the Causeway and the isle of Staffa. 53. IRISH TOWNS. 1. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, stands on both sides of the river LiflTey, which flows into Dublin Bay, one of the finest bays in Europe. Some of its public buildings are very fine, the handsomest being 252 IRISH TOWNS. the Bank of Ireland. Up to the year 1800 the Irish Parliament met within its walls. Opposite to the bank is Trinity College, the university of Dublin. In Dublin Castle the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland keeps his court. 2. Dublin has one of the largest parks in the kingdom. It covers more than seventeen hundred acres, and contains a zoological gardens, and a column of AYicklow marble to the memory of that famous Irishman the Duke of Wellington. Dublin is famous for its statues. In the broad thoroughfare of Sackville Street stands a grand monument to Daniel O'Connell, and not far away is the lofty Nelson column. 3. Dublin carries on an extensive trade, chiefly with England, and ranks next to Hull as a seaport. It exports butter, cheese, eggs, cattle, and pigs, and is famous for its breweries and distilleries, which produce ale, stout, and whisky, much of which is exported. It is also famous for poplin, which consists of a " warp " of silk and a " weft " of worsted. 4. Belfast, the largest and richest city in Ireland, stands on both sides of the river Lagan, which dis- charges itself into the beautiful Belfast Lough. On the north or Antrim side of the town hills rise up to form a most pleasing background ; and the general appearance of the town is bright, clean, and thrifty The dirt and smoke of English manufacturing towns are quite absent from Belfast. It has some fine streets and a number of public buildings. 5. Everywhere in the county of Antrim we may see fields dotted with the bright blue flowers of the flax SOME IRISH TOWNS. 254 IRISH TOWNS. plant, which is grown in abundance to supply the linen mills of Belfast and the neighbourhood. Though the linen trade is important, it is by no means the only industry of the Ulster capital. Much ship- building is carried on in its numerous dockyards. One of the largest vessels now afloat — the Oceania* — was built on the stocks of Belfast. A large export trade in provisions and farm produce is carried on with English and Scottish ports, and there are many rope-walks and distilleries in the town. 6. One of the most celebrated towns in Ulster is the busy seaport and manufacturing town of London- derry, situated on the river Foyle, where it begins to expand into Lough Foyle. When James the Second fled from the throne, and William of Orange became King of Great Britain and Ireland, most of the Irish sided with the deposed king. Londonderry, however, refused to yield to his forces, and was besieged for one hundred and five days ; but was at last relieved, whereupon the soldiers of King James withdrew. 7. Cork, on the south coast, stands at the head of one of the finest natural harbours in the world. So broad and deep is the basin that it could easily contain the whole of the British navy at once. Several islands are to be seen in the harbour. On one of them stands Queenstown, at which the At- lantic liners call to pick up mails and passengers for America. 8. Cork has a good situation, and is surrounded by hills. Its quays extend for four miles, and ships of two thousand tons are able to reach them. Large IRISH TOWNS. 255 exports of grain, provisions, butter, and live stock, the products of the neighbouring counties, are sent from Cork to England. 9. Limerick, the fourth city of Ireland, is an im- portant seaport, well placed on the Shannon, eighty fc.miles from the open sea. It boasts a castle which was built by King John, and has other relics of the stormy days when it was besieged by William the Third after the battle of the Boyne. The city manu- factures a little lace, grinds corn, cures bacon, and imports grain, petroleum, and timber. REVISION LESSONS. EUROPE. POSITION.— Europe is in the north- west of the iastern Hemisphere. EurOjie and Asia really form one continent. BOUNDARIES.— North : Arctic Ocean. West : Atlantic Ocean. South : Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Cau- casus Mountains. East : Caspian Sea, Ural River, Ural Mountains. RELATIVE SIZE.— Europe is the small- est of the great continents. Lengtll, from north to south, about 2,400 miles. Breadth, from east to west, about 3,500 miles. Area, 3,800,000 square miles. Coast, very irregular, about 20,000 miles. POPULATION. — About 360 millions. Europe contains one-fourth of the population of the globe. SEAS and INLETS.— White Sea, Bal-tic Sea (Gulf of Both'-ni-a, Gulf of Fin'- land, Cat'-te-gat, Ska'-ger Rack), North Sea, English Channel, Bay of Bis-cay, Med-i-ter-ra-ne-an Sea (Gulf of Lions, Gulf of Gen'-o-a, Ad-ri-at'-ic Sea, Ar-chi-pel'-a-go, Sea of Mar'-mo-ra, Black Sea, Sea of Az'-ov), Cas-pi-an Sea. STRAITS.— Dov-er, Gib-ral-tar, Dar- da-nelles', Bos-por-us. CAPES.— North : North Cape, Nord- kyn. West : Naze, Fin-is-terre', St. Vin-cent, Tra-fal-gar. South : Ta- rif-a, Mat-a-pan'. ISLANDS.— In the Arctic Ocean : No-va Zem-bla, Spilz-ber-gen, Lo-fo-den Isles. In the Atlantic : Ice-land, Fa-roe Isles, British Isles. In the Mediterranean : Bal-e-ar-ic Isles, Cor-si-ca, Sig-i-ly, Sar-din-i-a, Mal- ta, Gre-ci-an Ar-chi-pel-a-go, Crete. MOUNTAINS.— Alps (bordering Italy, France, Switzerland, and Austria ; Mont Blanc, 15,700 ft.), Ap-en-nines (Italy), Pin-dus Mountains (Turkey and Greece), Bal-kan Mountains (Turkey), Car-pa-thi-an Mountains (Austria), Cau-cas-us Mountains (south of Russia ; Elhurz, 18,500 ft. ) U-ral Mountains (Russia), Do-vre Field and Ki-o-len Mountains (Nor way and Sweden), Pyr-e-nees' (be tween France and Spain ; Maladetta 11,400 ft.), Si-er-ra Ne-va-da (Spain) Ce-vennes' and Vosges Mountains (France). VOLCANOES.— Mount Hec-la (Iceland), Mount Et-na (Sicily), Mount Ve-su- vi-us (Italy), Strom-bol-i (Li'-par-i Isles). PLAINS.— The Great Plain of Europe (most of Middle Europe, and nearly all Russia), the Plain of Hun-ga-ry (in east of Austria-Hungary), the Plain of the Lower Dan-ube (between Balkans and Carpathians, chiefly in Turkey), the Plain of Lom-bar-dy (north of Italy), the Plain of Bo-he- REVISION LESSONS. 257 mi-a (north-west of Austria), I-be- ri-an Plateau (greater part of Spain). RIVERS. — Floicing into the Arctic Ocean: the Petch-o-ra (Russia), the Northern Dwi-na (Russia). Flowing into the Baltic Sea : the Ne-va (Rus- sia), the Dwi-na (Russia), the Nie- men (Germany and Russia), the Vis-tu-la (Austria, Poland, and Germany), the 0-der (Germany). Flo2ving into the North Sea : the Elbe (Germany), the RMne (760 miles- Switzerland, Germany, and Holland), the Scheldt (Belgium), the Maas or Meuse (Belgium and Holland), the Thames (England), the Tweed (Scotland). Flowing into the Atlan- tic Ocean: the Sev-ern (Wales and England), the Shan-non (Ireland), the Seine (France), the Loire [Vu-dr) and the Ga-ronne' (France), the Dou- ro, the Ta-gus, and the Gua-di-a-na (Spain and Portugal), the Gua-dal- qui-vir' (Spain). Floiving into the Mediterranea7i : the E-bro (Spain), the Rhone (Switzerland and France), the Ti-ber (Italy), the Po (Italy), the Ma-rit-za (Turkey). Floiving into the Black Sea: the Dan-ube (1,630 miles — Germany, Austria, and Tur- key), the Dnies-ter and theDniep-er (Russia). Flowing into the Sea of Azov: the Don (Russia). Floivimj into the Caspian Sea : the Vol-ga (2,400 miles), the longest river in Europe (Russia), the U-ral (Russia). LAKES.— Lake Wen-er, Lake Wet-ter, and Lake Ma-lar (Sweden) ; Lake La-do-ga (largest lake in Europe) and Lake 0-ne-ga (North-west Russia), Lake of Ge-ne-va (between Switzer- land and France), Con-stance (be- tween Switzerland and Germany), Zu-ricb, Lu-cerne', and Neu-cha-tel' (Switzerland), Mag-gi-o-re, Co-mo, and Gar-da (North Italy). (1,100) SWITZERLAND (p. 70). POSITION.— Switzerland is a small in- land country. EXTENT.— Length, about 200 miles. Breadth, about 150 miles. Area, 16,000 square miles— about two- sevenths of England and Wales. POPULATION.— 3 millions. BOUNDARIES. — North: Germany. West : France. South : Italy. East : Austria. SURFACE. — The most mountainous countrj' in Europe. Chief moun- tains : the Alps, in which rise the Rhone and the Rhine. Chief lakes : Constance, Geneva, Lucerne. CHIEF TOWNS.— Berne, the capital, a handsome city; fine Gothic cathe- dral ; university. Population, 47,000. Ge-ne-va, the largest and richest city ; manufacture of watches, jewellery, etc. Ba-sle, Gothic cathedral ; uni- versity ; railway centre. Lau-sanne' has a beautiful position on Lake Ge- neva. Zu-rich, on Lake of Zurich, university. Lu-cerne', on Lake of Lucerne, much visited by tourists. INDUSTRIES AND TRADE.— Switzer- land is chiefly a pastoral country, though it has many manufactures. EXPORTS.— Cotton and silk goods, em- broidery, straw-plaiting, muslin and lace, clocks, watches, wooden toys, cheese, condensed milk. IMPORTS.— Metals, corn, raw cotton, wines, wood. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of Switzerland is a Federal Republic— a Union of States, called Cantons, under a President. ITALY (p. 83). POSITION. — Italy is a long, narrow pen- insula of Southern Europe. EXTENT.— Length, 700 miles. Breadth, from 15 to 300 miles. Area, about 15 258 REVISION LESSONS. 114,000 square miles — twice England and Wales. POPULATION.— 30 millions. BOUNDARIES.— North : Austria, Swit- zerland. East : Adriatic Sea. South : Mediterranean Sea. West : France, Mediterranean. SEAS, BAYS, ETC.— Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Genoa, Bay of Naples, Strait of Mes-si'-na, Gulf of Tar-an'-to, I-o'-ni-an Sea, Strait of Ot-ran'-to, Adriatic Sea). ISLANDS.— Sardinia, Cap-ri, Sicily, Is- cM-a, El-ba, Li-par-i Islands (Strom- boli, volcano). CAPES.— Leu-ca, Spar-ti-ven-to, Pass- a-ro. MOUNTAINS.— The Alps (Mont Blanc, Mont Cenis, Mont St. Got'-hard), the Apennines (Monte Corno); Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna (Sicily)— lo^- canocs. RIVERS. — A-di-ge, Ar-no, Po, Ti-ber. LAKES.— Co-mo, Maggiore [Md-jo'-rd), Gar-da. CHIEF TOWNS.— Rome, the capital of the kingdom of Italy since 1871. It stands on the banks of the Tiber, 16 miles from its mouth. Among its public buildings are the Vatican (the palace of the ix)pes), and the Church of St. Peter, the largest in the world. It contains many remains of ancient Rome. Population, 415,000. Na-ples, the largest city in Italy, with some manufactures of silk and glass. The scenery of the Bay of Na- ples is very fine. Population, 520,000. Mi-lan'—" The Grand "—chief town in Lombardy. It has a magnifijent cathedral built of white marble. Tu-rln' is the chief town in Pied- mont. It has important silk trade, and a university. Gen-o-a — "The Superb"— the commercial capital and chief seaport of Italy. It has large manufactures of silks and velvets. It was the birthplace of Columbus. Ven-ice — " Queen of the Adriatic " — built on 123 islands connected by 378 bridges. Among its many fine build- ings are the Palace of the Doges and the Church of St. Mark. Flor-ence— " The Flower of Cities " — on the river Arno. Its collections of paintings and sculpture are the finest in the world. Leg-horn, an important seaport on the coast of Tuscany, famous for the manufacture of straw - plait. Man- tu-a, an ancient town, very strongly fortified. Bo-logn-a, seat of the old- est university in Europe. Pi-sa, near the mouth of the Arno, famed for its leaning tower. Brin'di-si, seaport on the south-east. Car-ra-ra, famous for its quarries of white marble used for sculpture. Spez-zi-a, chief sta- tion of the navy ; 45 miles south-east of Genoa. Pa-ler-mo—" The Happy" — capital of Sicily. Ca-ta-ni-a, Mes- si-na, Syr-a-cuse, towns in Sicily. Cagliari (Ka' -hj-d-re), capital of Sar- dinia. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture— Engages the bulk of the people. Chief pro- ductions: corn, oil, wine, fruit, silk, cattle. Manufactures — Silk, velvet, jeweller}-, glass, porcelain, gloves, perfumery, macaroni. Mining— Mar- ble, alabaster, salt, lava, coal, iron, copper, lead ; sulphur in Sicily. EXPORTS. — Silks, wines, oil, hemp, fruits, wool, marble, hides. IMPORTS.— Cotton and woollen goods, cutlery and hardware, corn, tea, cof- fee, and colonial produce. GOVERNMENT.— Italy is governed by a King and two Houses of Parliament. FRANCE (p. 100). POSITION.— France is the Continental country nearest to England. EXTENT.— Length, about 600 miles. Breadth, about 600 miles. Area, REVISION LESSONS. ^59 264,000 square miles— three and a half times England and Wales. Coast, about 1,500 miles. POPULATION.— Over 38 millions. BOUNDARIES.— North : Germany, Bel- gium, English Channel. West : Atlantic Ocean. South : Spain, Mediterranean Sea. East : Italy, Switzerland, Germany. SEAS, BAYS, ETC.— English Channel (Strait of Dover), Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean (Gulf of Lions). ISLANDS.— Channel Islands (belong to England), Corsica. MOUNTAINS. — Pyrenees, Cevennes, Auvergne {O-vem'), Cote - d'Or, Vosges (Vuzh), Jura, Alps (Mont Blanc). RIVERS.— Seine, rises in Cute-d'Or, and flows north -west into the English Channel. Tributaries, Marne, Oise. Loire, rises in Cevennes, and flows north and then west to the Bay of Biscay. Tributaries, Allier, Cher. Dordogne [Dor-do -nye), rises in Au- vergne Mountains, and flows west, being joined at mouth by the Ga- ronne, which rises in the Pyrenees. The two rivers have a common estu- ary, known as the Gironde. Rhone, rises in Mont St. Gothai'd, and flows through Lake Geneva ; at Lyons re- ceives the Saone, which rises in the Vosges. The river then flows south to the Mediterranean. CHIEF TOWNS.— Par-is, the capital— the most beautiful, the gayest, and, after London, the largest city of Europe, has splendid public build- ings, and manufactures articles of luxury, jewellery, watches, furniture, gloves, etc. Population, 2,450,000. Ly-ons, the second city, is the greatest city for manufactures, especially of silk. Mar-seilles', the third city, and the greatest seaport, is strongly forti- fied. Bor-deaux', great seaport, ex- ports wines. Lille, a very strongly fortified town, manufactures lace, cotton, and linen. Tou-louse' man- ufactures agricultural implements. Nantes has shipbuilding and a foreign trade. St. E-ti-enne' manufactures cutlery, firearms, ribbons, and silks. Rouen' has a splendid Gothic cathe- dral, and cotton manufactures. Am-iens, on the Somme, has a grand old cathedral. Hav-re, third port of France, Brest, Tou-lon', Cher-bourg, grept naval stations. Nice, Cannes, Men-to-ne, health - resorts. Bou- logne', Di-eppe', are watering-places. Ca-lais, seaport on the Straits of Do- ver, was held by England, 1347-1558. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture — Engages 60 per cent, of the population ; wheat, barley, rye, maize, vines, beetroot, mulberry trees ; dairy produce, cattle, poultry, eggs. Manufactures— Silk, cotton, linen, woollen goods, sugar, lace, jewellery, cutlery, firearms, porcelain, paper, hats, gloves. Min- ing— Iron ore, coal. WINE DISTRICTS.— Champagne, val- ley of the Marne. Claret, valley of the Garonne. Burgundy, slopes of the C6te-d'0r. EXPORTS.— Silk, wines, brandy, gloves, jewellery, jDOultry, eggs. To Britain, £45,000,000. IMPORTS. — Raw silk, cotton, and wool ; coal, metals. From Britain, £22,000,000. COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.— In Africa — Algiers, Tunis, Senegal, Reunion. In Asia— Lower Cochin- China, Pondicherry, etc. In Amer- ica — Miquelon, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, French Guiana. In Oceania — Marquesas Islands, part of New Caledonia, Tahiti. i GOVERNMENT.— The Government of France is a Republic. There is an Tipper House called the Senate, and 260 REVISION LESSONS. a Lower called the Chamber of Dep- uties. The two Chambers elect the President of the Republic, who holds office for seven years and appoints the Ministers. MONACO (p. 112). A small independent state governed by a prince ; situated between Nice and Mentone. It has an area of 8 square miles, and a population of 13,000. There are three towns— Mon- a-co, Con-da-mine, and Mon-te Car-lo, where there is a great gam- bling establishment. ANDORRA (p. 138). A small republic on the south side of the Pyrenees, between France and Spain. The capital is An-dor-ra la Vi-e-ja. Area, 170 squares miles. Population, 5,000. THE IBERIAN PENIN- SULA (Spain and Portugal). POSITION.— Spain and Portugal form the I-be'-ri-an Peniiisula, in the south- west of Europe. EXTENT.— Length, about 650 miles. Breadth, about 550 miles. Area, 230,000 square miles — about four times England and Wales. Coast, about 2,200 miles. POPULATION.— Spain, over 18 millions. Portugal, 5 millions. BOUNDARIES.— North : France, Bay of Biscay. West : Atlantic Ocean. South : Atlantic Ocean, Mediter- ranean Sea. East : Mediterranean Sea. CAPES. — Or-te-gal, Fin-is-terre', Roc-a, St. Vin-cent, Tra-fal-gar, Ta-ri-fa. ISLANDS.— Ba-le-ar-ic (Majorca, Mi- norca, Ivica). MOUNTAINS. — Pyr-e-nees' (between France and Spain) — Maladctla ; As- tu-ri-as Mountains, Cas-tile' Moun- tains, To-le-do Mountains, Si-er-ra Ne-va,-da. RIVERS. — Min-ho, Dou-ro, Ta-gus, Gua-di-a-na, Gua-dal-qui-vir',E-bro. SPAIN (p. 126). CHIEF TOWNS.— Ma-drid', the capi- tal, on a tributary of the Tagus. It stands on a table-land 2,000 feet above sea-level. Population, 470,000. Bar-ce-lo-na, the second city and the chief seaport. It has a imiversity and a magnificent cathedral. Sev-ille', the largest town in the south of Spain. It has a famous Moorish palace, the Alcazar. Va-len-ci-a is an important seaport. It has a famous university, with a splendid library. Ma-la-ga exports wine and fruits. Gra-na-da is the old Moorish capital, with the Alhambra (palace and fortress). Ca-diz, fortified sea- port ; exports sherry. Badajos [Bd- thd-choth') was stormed bj- the British (1812). Cor-un-na is the burial-place of Sir John Moore (1809). Gib-ral-tar is an impregnable fortress belonging to Britain. INDUSTRIES.— Agriculture— Chief in- dustrj- in Spain ; vines, mulberry trees, grain, fruit. Manufactures — Very backward ; silk fabrics, cotton and coarse woollen cloth. EXPORTS.— Wine, fruits, silks, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and tin. IMPORTS.— Cotton and woollen goods, machinery, coal, iron, timber, colo- nial produce. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.— Ceuta (op- posite Gibraltar, on the ^Morocco coast), a few islands off the west coast of Africa, and some settlements on the west coast of Africa. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of Spain is a Limited Monarchy, which dates only from 1876. The Parlia- REVISION LESSONS. 261 ment, called the Cortes, consists of two Houses. PORTUGAL (p. 126). CHIEF TOWNS.— Lis-bon, the Ccapital, is beautifully situated on a splendid natural harbour. In 1755 an earth- quake destroyed much of it. 0-por- to, chief manufacturing town, has a great trade in port wine. Co-im-bra is a university town. Tor-res Ve- dras, noted for Wellington's " lines " of fortifications (1810). INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture — Gener- ally in a backward state, excepting the cultivation of the vine. Manu- factures—Wine-making. EXPORTS.— Wine, fruits, wool, cork, cattle. IMPORTS. -* Cotton goods, woollen goods, iron goods, earthenware, colo- nial produce. COLONIES.— In Asia— Goa in India, Macao in China. In Africa — Cape Verde Islands, settlements in Sene- gambia and Guinea (the Azores and Madeira are provinces of Portu- gal), St. Thomas, Principe, etc. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of Portugal is a Limited Monarchy, dating from 1826. The Parliament consists of two Houses. THE BALKAN PENIN- SULA. TURKEY IN EUROPE (p. 139). EXTENT.— Length, 500 miles. Breadth, 300 miles. Area, 65,000 square miles — that is, one-ninth larger than Eng- land and Wales. BOUNDARIES.— North : BiUgaria (with Eastern Roumelia), Servia, Bosnia, and Montenegro. East : Black Sea. West : Adriatic Sea. South : Greece and Archipelago. POPULATION.— 5.\ millions. MOUNTAINS.— Balkans, Pindus. RIVERS.— Vardar, flowing into the Gulf of Salonica ; Struma and Ma- ritza, flowing into the yEgean Sea. CHIEF TOWNS. — Con-stan-ti-no-ple, the capital of the whole Turkish Empire, stands on the (:iolden Horn, one of the finest harbours in the world. Population, 875,000. A-dri- an-o-ple, the second city, manufac- tures silk and linen. Sal-on-i-ca, a seaport— the ancient Thessalonica. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture — In a backward condition. Grain, fruits, tobacco, mulberrj', cotton, fla.x, are grown. Manufactures— In a back- ward state; silk, carpets, leather, meerschaum pipes, attar of roses. EXPORTS.— Wool, hides, grain, fruits, sponges, meerschaum pipes, tobacco. IMPORTS.— Cotton and woollen fabrics, cutlery, hardware, machinery. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS. — In Asia- Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, and parts of Arabia. In Africa — Trijioli. GOVERNMENT. — The Government of Turkey is an Absolute Monarchy, all power being vested in the Sultan. BULGARIA (including Eastern Roumelia) (p. 147). POSITION.— Lies between Turkey and the Danube. Area, 37,000 sq. miles, or one-third area of England and Wales. POPULATION.— Si millions. MOUNTAINS. —Balkans. RIVERS.— Lower course of Danube, and upper course of Maritza. CHIEF TOWNS. — So-fi-a, the capital of Bulgaria. It has a good deal of trade. Sil-is-tri-a, Rus-tchuk, Sis- to-va, towns on the Danube, in Bul- garia. Plev-na, famous for its de- fence against the Russians in 1877. Var-na, chief seaport. Phil-ip-pop- O-lis, on the Maritza, is the chief town of Eastern Roumelia. It has silk manufactures. 262 REVISION LESSONS. INDUSTRY. — Chiefly agricultural. Trades in grain, cattle, wine, wool, iron, tobacco, and silk. GOVERNMENT.— A Limited Monarcliy, under a Prince, subject in some de- gree to the Sultan. SEEVIA (p. 146). POSITION.— Lies north of Turkey, be- tween it and Danube. Area, 20,000 square miles — a little more than one- third of England and Wales. POPULATION.— 2^ millions. MOUNTAINS.— Balkans and offshoots of Dinaric Alps. RIVERS.— Danube and Morava (tribu- tary of Danube). CHIEF TOWN.— Bel-grade', at the con- fluence of the Save and Danube, is the capital. It is strongly fortified, and manufactures hardware. INDUSTRY. — Mountains yield iron, copper, and lead. Wheat, maize, tobacco, hemp, and fruit are grown. GOVERNMENT.— A Limited Monarcliy. ROUMANIA (p. 149). POSITION. — Between Danube, Car- pathians, and river Pruth. Area, 50,000 square miles — that is, five- sixths of England and Wales. POPULATION.— 6 millions. RIVERS.— Danube, Pruth, Sereth (tri- butary of Pruth). CHIEF TOWNS.— Bu-kar-est, on the Danube, is the capital. Ga-latz', a river-port on the Danube, has a large trade in grain. Jas-sy is the chief town in the northern pro\ince of Moldavia. INDUSTRY.— ;Most of the people are engaged in agriculture. GOVERNMENT.— A Limited Monarchy. MONTENEGRO (p. 145). POSITION. — Small, mountainous coun- try north-west of Turkey, with short coast-line on Adriatic. Area, 3,500 square miles, or half area of Wales. POPULATION.— A quarter of a million. TOWN.— Cet-tin-je, the capital, is a mere village. INDUSTRIES.— A poor country, export- ing a little honey, wax, and dried fish. GOVERNMENT.— Ptuled by a Chris- tian Prince. GREECE (p. 151). EXTENT.— Length, 250 miles. Breadth, 150 miles. Area, 25,000 square miles ^ess than half England and Wales. Coast, 2,500 miles. BOUNDARIES.— North: Turkey. East: .ffigean Sea. South : Mediterranean Sea. West : Ionian Sea. POPULATION.— 2 millions. SEAS.— Mediterranean, Ionian (Gulf of Lepanto), Archipelago or iEgean Sea. ISLANDS. — Ionian, and most of those in the Archipelago. CAPE.— Mat-a-pan'. MOUNTAINS.— Pindus Range. CHIEF TOWNS.— Ath-ens, the capital, one of the most famous cities of olden times. It has many ancient remains. Its port, Pi-rae-us, is on the Gulf of ^gina. Population, 107,000. Cor- inth, on the isthmus of Corinth, is a famous old city with many remains. Pat-ras, on a gulf of the same name, is an important seaport. INDUSTRIES.— Agriculture — Occupies one-half of the population ; currants, olives, figs, tobacco. Manufactures — Of little importance. Marble is ex- ported from some of the islands, and lead, silver, coal, iron, salt, and sul- |)hur are also found. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of Greece has been a Limited Mon- archy since 1830. REVISION LESSONS. 263 CRETE or CANDIA (p. 58). POSITION. — Large island in the Medi- terranean to south of Greece. Area, over 3,000 square miles. POPULATION. — 300, 000. MOUNTAINS.— Mount Ida, 8,000 feet. TOWNS.— Canea and Candia, both on the north coast. INDUSTRIES.— Agriculture and cattle- rearing. GOVERNMENT.— In 1898 the Turks were expelled, and the island has now self-government, under the pro- tection of the Great Powers. A Greek prince is High Commissioner. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (p. 167). POSITION. —Austria -Hungary is al- most entirely inland. Austria is the western and Hungary the eastern part of the country. EXTENT.— LengtH, about 800 miles. Breadth, about 700 miles. Area, 240,000 square miles — four and a half times England and Wales. Coast, about 500 miles on the Adriatic Sea. BOUNDARIES.— North : Germany and Russia. West : Italy, Switzerland, Germany. South : Roumania, Ser- via, Montenegro, the Adriatic, and Italy. East : Russia and Roumania. POPULATION.— Over 42 millions. MOUNTAINS. -Alps, Carpathians ; Bbh- mer Wald (Bohemian Forest), Erz Gebirge (Ore Mountains), and Riesen Gebirge (Giants' Mountains) surround the plateau of Bohemia. RIVERS.— Danube (Theiss, Drave, Save), Vistula, Oder, Elbe. LAKES.— Bal-a-ton and Plat-ten See. CHIEF TOWNS.— Vi-en-na, the capital of Avistria and the chief manufactur- ing city. It is one of the largest and finest cities on the Continent. Bu-da- pest, the chief city of Hungary, and the seat of the Hungarian Diet or Parliament. It consists of two towns on opposite sides of the Danube, con- nected by a great suspension bridge. Prague, on the Moldau, is the chief city of Bohemia, with manufactures and extensive commerce. Briinn, in Moldavia, is the chief seat of the woollen manufacture. Tri-este', the chief seaport of Austria, is at the head of the Adriatic. Lem-berg, the chief city of Galicia. Cra-cow, the chief town of Austrian Poland. In its cathedral the most celebrated kings of Poland are buried. Po-la, an important seaport and arsenal, on the Adriatic. Fi-u-me, the only Hungarian seaport of any import- ance. Press-burg, former capital of Hungary. There the kings of Hun- gary are crowned. Inns-briick, the chief town of the Tyrol. Salz-burg, surrounded by walls, with eight gates. Lay-bach, an important town, on the railway between Trieste and Vienna. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture— Occupies more than 70 per cent, of the people ; grain, vines, cattle. Excellent wine is made in Hungary. Manufactures — Cotton, woollen, linen, silk, glass, iron, furniture. Mining — Very im- portant ; gold, silver, copper, iron, quicksilver, salt, and coal. The salt mines are the largest in the world. EXPORTS.— Corn, flour, glass, timber, cotton goods, wool, salt, wine. IMPORTS.— Straw, cotton, iron, silk, woollen goods. POPULATION.— The population of Aus- tria-Hungary is very varied. It includes Slavonians, Germans, Mag- yars, and Romance peoples. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (p. 166). POSITION.— South of the Save, west of Servia. These states were added to Austria in 1878. 264 REVISION LESSONS. CHIEF TOWNS.— Zvor-nik, the capital. Bos-na Ser-ai', the largest town, built of wood. Mos-tar', the chief town of Herzegovina. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of the Austro-Hungarian Emjiire is a Constitutional Monarchy. Austria and Hungary have each their own Parliament, their own Government, and their own Ministers ; but thej' have the same King, the same army and navy, and a common ruling body which settles foreign affairs and war. THE GERMAN EMPIRE (p. 179). POSITION.— The German Empire oc- cupies much of Central Europe. It consists of the kingdoms of Prus.sia, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and Saxony, and a number of smaller states. EXTENT.— Length, from east to west, about 700 miles. Breadth, from north to south, about 550 miles. Area, 208,000 square miles — about three and a half times England and Wales. Coast, about 1,000 miles. POPULATION.— 50 millions. BOUNDARIES.— North : North Sea, Denmark, Baltic Sea. East : Russia. South : Austria, Switzerland. West : France, Belgium, Holland. SEAS, GULFS, ETC.— Baltic Sea, North Sea. MOUNTAINS.— Harz Mountains, Black Forest. RIVERS. — Baltic : Niemen, Vistula, Oder. North Sea : Elbe (Spree), Weser, Rhine (Main, Neckar, Mo- selle). Black Sea: Danube (Lech, Isar). CHIEF STATES. — Prussia, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, Baden, Saxony. CHIEF TOWNS IN PRUSSIA.— Ber-lin', the capital of the kingdom, and also of the German Empire, has a famous university and extensive manufac- tures. Population, 1,600,000. Pots- dam, the summer seat of the emperor, has palaces and gardens. Bres-lau, chief town in Silesia, on the Oder. It is an important manufacturing and commercial town. Co-logne', chief town in the Rhine Province. Its Gothic cathedral is one of the finest churches in the world. The town is noted for " eau-de-Cologne." Frank-fort-on-the-Main has a large banking business, and two great fairs every year. Kon-igs-berg, the capi- tal of Prussia proper, is a university town and a commercial port. Dan- zig, a great seaport, is strongly forti- fied. It exports grain and timber in large quantities. Han-o-ver, capi- tal of kingdom of Hanover till 1866. Stet-tin', the chief commercial port of Prussia. Its grain trade is very great. Mem-el, large exports of tim- ber and grain. Kiel exports dairy produce ; it stands at Baltic entrance to Kaiser- Wilhelm Canal. CHIEF TOWNS IN BAVARLA.— Mu-nich (Miinchen), the capital ; celebrated for its fine art galleries. Nu-rem- berg is noted for toys. CHIEF TOWN IN WURTEMBERG.— Stutt-gart, the capital, has a large publishing trade. CHIEF TOWNS IN SAXONY.— Dres-den, the capital, has the finest picture gal- lery out of Italy. Leip-zig is the chi ef seat of the German book trade. CHIEF TOWNS IN OTHER STATES.— Ba-den-Ba-denis a fashionable water- ing-place. Hei-del-berg has a noted university. Metz was formerly a French fortress ; it is very strongly fortified. Stras-burg, on the Rhine, was transferred from France to Ger- many in 1871. It has a great fortress and a famous Gothic cathedral. THE FREE CITIES.— Brem-en, large American trade in tobacco. Ham- REVISION LESSONS. 265 burg is the greatest commercial city on the Continent. Lii-beck is a pic- turesque old town. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture— Engages the mass of the people ; wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, beet ; great vineyards in the Rhine Province. Manufactures— Linen, woollen, and cotton, ij'on, steel, glass, earthenware, clocks, and toys. Mining — Coal, iron, lead, and salt. EXPORTS.— Timber, corn, wool, flax, oil, and wine. IMPORTS.— Coal, raw cotton and silk, iron ore, colonial produce. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.— In Africa— Togoland, Kamerun, German South- west Africa, and German East Africa. In China — Kiau-chou. In the Pa- cific— Kaiser Wilhelm Laud, etc. GOVERNMENT.-In 1871 all the Ger- man states were bound together in an Empire, of which the King of Prussia is the head. Each state has a Government of its own, but sends members to a united Parliament. DENMARK (p. 190). POSITION. — Denmark consists of a pen- insula and a number of islands near the entrance to the Baltic Sea. EXTENT.— Length, about 150 miles. Breadth, about 100 miles. Area, about 15,300 square miles — one-fourth England and Wales. Coast, about 1,2C0 miles. POPULATION.— About 2 millions. BOUNDARIES.— Nearly surrounded by water. North : Skager Rack. East : Cattegat, The Sound. South : Ger- many. West : North Sea. SEAS, GULFS, ETC.- North Sea (Ska- ger Rack, Cattegat, Lym Fiord, the Sound, (xreat Belt, Little Belt), Baltic Sea. ISLANDS.— Zea-land, Fu-nen, Laa- land, Fal-ster, Mo-en, Born-holm. CAPE.— The Skaw. SURFACE. — There are no mountains and no large rivers. CHIEF TOWNS.— Co-pen-ha%en, in the east of Zealand, but partly on a smaller island. . It is the capital of Denmark, and has a university and several fine palaces and public build- ings. Population, 370,000. O-den-se, the second city of Denmark, is on the island of Fuuen. It has woollen manufactures, and a fine cathedral. Aar-huus is the chief town on the mainland. El-si-nore', also called Helsingor, a naval station on the island of Zealand, and on the shore of the narrowest part of the Sound. Till 1857, all vessels, not Danish or Swedish, passing through the Sound paid toll. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture — The Danes are industrious and skilful farmers. They grow wheat, flax, hemp, and tobacco. Cattle and horses are reared. Fisheries — -Very generally pursued on the coasts. Turbot and salmon abound. Mining ^IMinerals are scarce. Manufac- tures— Few and unimportant. EXPORTS.— Butter, corn, flour, live stock, wood, hides, and dried fish. IMPORTS.— Cotton goods, coal, iron. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.— The chief are Iceland, the Faroe Isles, and the coasts of Greenland, and several of the West India Islands. Iceland is a large island in the North Atlantic, 700 miles west of Norway. It con- tains many extinct and some active volcanoes. The chief of the latter is Mount Hekla (4,092 feet). In Iceland also are the geysers— hot springs, 50 in number, which at intervals throw up colunms of hot water. The chief town is Reykiavik. The Faroe Isles lie between Iceland and the Shet- lands, and are 25 in niunber. Eider 266 REVISION LESSONS. down is exported. The Danish pos- sessions on the coasts of Greenland cover 46,700 square miles. The Dan- ish possessions in the West Indies were sold to the United States in December 1901. GOVERNMENT.— The Government is a Limited Monarchy. HOLLAND (p. 194). POSITION.— Holland, or the Nether- lands, is a small kingdom in the west of Europe. EXTENT.— Length, about 180 miles. Breadth, about 120 miles. Area, 13,000 square miles — about one-fourth England and Wales. POPULATIO:^.— 4| millions. BOUND ARIES.— North and West : Nortli Sea. South : Belgium. East : Ger- many. BAYS, ETC. — Doll-art Bay, Zuy^er Zee, Mouths of the Scheldt, Maas, and Rhine. SURFACE.— Nearly flat. RIVERS.- Yssel, Rhine, Maas, Scheldt. CHIEF TOWNS. — Am-ster-dam, the chief city ; one of the greatest com- mercial cities in Europe ; built on a number of small islands ; famous for diamond-cutting. Population,420,000. Rot^ter-dam, the second city and chief seaport. The Hague, seat of the States-General or Parliament, and of the Court. Ley-den, universitj' to'WTi ; noted for its siege by the Spaniards in 1573. U-trecht', the oldest city in Holland. Haar-lem, noted for flower- bulbs. Zaan-dam, where Peter the Great worked as a shipbuilder. Luxemburg, a small independent state between Belgium, France, and Germany ; the ruler of Holland is its Grand Duke. It was formerlj' strongly fortified, but was dismantled in 1867. INDUSTRIES.— Commerce— Holland is a busy trading country. Fisheries — Very important. Agriculture — Of great importance ; chieflj' cattle-rear- ing and dairy work. Manufactures ^Sugar-refining, gin-making, ship- building, diamond-cutting. EXPORTS. —Butter, cheese, cattle, sugar, gin (Hollands), linen (Hol- land). IMPORTS.— Cotton and woollen goods, iron, machinery, colonial produce. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.— East Indies — Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, etc. West Indies — Cura^oa, St. Eustatius. South America — Dutch Guiana (or Surinam). GOVERNMENT.— The Government is a Limited Monarchy. BELGIUM (p. 203). POSITION.— Belgium is a small king- dom south of Holland, on the west coast of Eurof)e. EXTENT. — Length, about 175 miles. Breadth, about 100 miles. Area, about 11,300 square miles — about one- fifth England and Wales. POPULATION.— 6 millions. BOUNDARIES. —North : Holland. South : France. East : Germany. West : North Sea. SURFACE.— An unbroken plain. RIVERS.— Scheldt, Maas or Meuse. CHIEF TOWNS.— Brus-sels, the capi- tal, called "Little Paris," is the centre of learning and industrj' in Belgium. Population, 500,000. Ant- werp, the chief commercial city, was once the greatest seat of trade in the north of Europe. It has a magnifi- cent cathedral. Ghent, important seat of the cotton manufactures — "the Manchester of Belgium." Liege {Lee-aij') has manufactures of fire- arms and machinery — "the Birming- ham of Belgium. ' Bruges (Broozh) was once the wealthiest city in REVISION LESSONS. 267 Europe. It has cotton and woollen manufactures. Mech-lin or Ma-lines', noted for its lace manufactures. Mons has a coal and iron trade. Na-mur' manufactures cutlery and hardware. Os-tend' is chief port for passage to England. INDUSTRIES. — Agriculture — Especi- ally in middle and west ; flax, hemp, clover. Manufactures — Linen, cot- ton, woollen, iron, machinery, lace, carpets. Mining— Coal, iron. EXPORTS.— Silk fabrics, flax, lace, but- ter, coals, fat cattle. IMPORTS. —Raw silk, wool, cotton, woollen and cotton fabrics, colonial produce. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of Belgium is a Limited Monarchy. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.— The Congo State, in Africa, is governed by the King of the Belgians. RUSSIA IN EUROPE (p. 209). POSITION.— Russia occupies the whole of Eastern Europe from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. EXTENT.— Length, 1,700 miles. Breadth, 1,500 miles. Area, 2,100,000 square miles, or twenty-four times the size of Great Britain. POPULATION.— 120 millions. BOUNDARIES.— North : Arctic Ocean. South : Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. East : Caspian Sea, Ural River, and Ural Mountains. West : Germany, Austria, and Rou- mania. SURFACE.— A vast plain. MOUNTAINS.— Urals (3,000 feet), near the eastern boundary. The Valdai Hills are the only elevation in the interior. The vast Caucasus, be- tween the Caspian and the Black Sea, contain Elhurz (18,500 feet). RIVERS.— The Petchoraand the Dwina (White Sea) ; the Neva (Gulf of Fin- land), Western Dwina (Gulf of Riga), Niemen (Baltic) ; Dniester and Dnie- per, Don (Sea of Azov) ; the Volga (2,400 miles), the longest river in Europe (Caspian Sea). LAKES. — Finland contains, amongst many other lakes, Lake Ladoga, the largest in Europe, and Lake Onega, the second in size. ISLANDS.— Nov-a Zem-hla and Spitz- ber-gen Islands, in the Arctic Ocean. CHIEF TOWNS.— St. Pe-ters^burg, the capital of the whole Russian Empire. It was named after Peter the Great, who founded it in 1703. The public buildings are very fine. It has a university, and extensive commerce and manufactures. Population, over 900,000. Mos-cow, the former capital, on the Moskva ; from it the empire used to be called "Muscovy." In 1812 it was burned by its inhabitants. The chief building is the Kremlin, a large triangular citadel, compris- ing palaces, barracks, and churches. War-saw, the capital of the kingdom of Poland, which ceased in 1795. It is now the third city in Russia, and is a great military station. Rl-ga is a fortified seaport, with large trade in grain, flax, hemp, and timber. O-des-sa, the chief port on the Black Sea, has a very large trade in grain. As-tra-khan' is the centre of the Cas- pian sturgeon-fisheries. There caviare, isinglass, and shagreen are chiefly made. Arch-an-gel is the oldest seaport in Russia, and was the only one till St. Petersburg was built. Its harbour is frozen from Septem- ber till July. Kiev, once the capital, is a holy city. Nij-ni-Nov-go-rod is the seat of the greatest fair in Europe, held annually from July till September, and attended by a quar- ter of a million of people. Se-bas- to-pol, in the Crimea, "the Gibral- 268 REVISION LESSONS. tar of the Black Sea," was destroyed by the English and the French in 1855. Near it are the battlefields of the Alma, Inkermann, and Bala- clava. Kron-stadt, the fortress of St. Petersburg, is on an island 18 miles from the city. Sar-a-tov' has great trade. INDUSTRIES.— Agriculture — Occupies moat of the population. The great wheat region is in the south-west, around Kiev. Flax and hemp are produced in the west. Cattle are reared extensively in Middle Russia. Lumbering — An important industry on the shores of the Baltic ; timber is largelj' exported from Riga and Memel. Mining — Chiefly on the slopes of the Ural Mountains and in the south-east. Chief minerals : platinum, gold, copper, iron, and coal. Manufactures— jNIachinery, woollens, cottons, linens, leather goods, wooden goods ; not important, but rapidly increasing. Fisheries — Sturgeon, at the mouths of the Volga and the Don ; whale and seal in the north. EXPORTS.— Grain, hemp, flax, hides, tallow, and timber. IMPORTS.— Manufactured articles and colonial produce. GOVERNMENT.— The Government of Russia is an Absolute Monarchy. All power centres in the Czar or Emperor. THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA (p. 227). POSITION.— Norway and Sweden form a large peninsula (called Scandinavia) on the north-west of Europe. EXTENT.— Length, about 1,100 miles. Breadth, about 500 miles. Area, nearly 300,000 square miles — five times England and Wales. Coast, deei>ly indented, and very bold on western side, about 4,000 miles. POPULATION.- Over GJ millions. BOUNDARIES.— Almost surrounded by water. North : Arctic Ocean. East : Russia, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia. South : Baltic Sea, Cat-te-gat, Ska-ger Rack. West : Atlantic Ocean. SEAS, GULFS, ETC. — Arctic Ocean (Varanger Fiord), Atlantic Ocean (Miilstrom), North Sea (Skager Rack, Cattegat, The Sound), Baltic Sea (Gulf of Bothnia). ISLANDS. — Lo-fo-den Isles (Atlantic Ocean), 0-land, Gott-land (Baltic Sea). CAPES.— Nor d-kyn. North Cape, The Naze. MOUNTAINS.-Norway: Kio-len Moun- tains, Dov-re Field, Har-dan-ger Field. RIVERS. — Tor-ne-a, U-me-a, Dal, Glom- nien. LAKES.— Wen-er, Wet-ter, Ma-lar. NORWAY. CHIEF TOWNS.— Chris-ti-an^i-a, the capital, has a imiversity and fine public buildings. Population, 150,000. Ber-gen, chief seaport and commer- cial capital— great fish-mart. Trond- hjem (Trond-i/cm), the former capital, has a fine cathedral, where the kings are crowned. Dram-men has a great trade in timber. Ham-mer-fest is the most northerly town in Europe. INDUSTRIES. - Fisheries — Give em- ployment to the bulk of the people. Cod and herring are caught along the whole coast from north to south. Salmon abound in the rivers. Tim- ber-cutting— Ranks next to fishing as a national industry. Spruce and Scotch fir are the chief kind.j of wood. Agriculture — Pursued only in the south and in the valleys of the mid- dle region. Products : oats, barley, rye, peas, and potatoes ; and wheat REVISION LESSONS. 269 in the south. Pasturing— Engages more people than tillage. Herds of cattle are taken to the hill pastures in summer, and to tlie valleys in win- ter. Sheep, goats, and small horses are also reared. EXPORTS.— Timber, dried fish, lobsters, ice, bar iron, copper ore. IMPORTS.— Iron, cotton, coal, woollens, colonial produce (tea, coffee, sugar, spices). SWEDEN. CHIEF TOWNS.— Stock-liolm, the capi- tal— "The Venice of the North " — is the chief commercial city. Population, 260,000. Got-lien-burg has a trade in iron, timber, and cattle, and is con- nected with Stockholm by the GotTia Canal. Carls-cro-na is a naval sta- tion. Up-sa-la, the former capital, has a famous university. Dan-ne- mo-ra has famous iron mines. Kal- mar is a seaport. The Treaty of Kalmar (1397) united Norway, Swe- den, and Denmark. INDUSTRIES.— Mining— The most valu- able industry in Sweden. The min- erals are iron (which is said to be the best in the world), silver, copper, zinc, coal, marble. Agriculture and Pasture — Occupy most of the people. Sweden is more agricultural than Norway, as it is a much less rugged country. Timtoer-cutting — Also im- portant, and is on the increase. Manufactures— Sugar-refining, tex- tile fabrics, agricultural implements, brewing and distilling, etc. EXPORTS.— Wood and timber, lueifer matches, oats, iron, butter, live ani- mals. IMPORTS.— Wrought iron, coal, cotton fabrics, machinery, colonial produce. FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.— St. Barthol- omew, a small island in the West Indies. It produces cotton, sugar, tobacco, and cocoa. GOVERNMENT.— The Government is a Constitutional Monarchy. Norway and Sweden have the same King, but separate Parliaments and separate armies. THE BRITISH ISLES (p. 237). The British Islands lie off the north- west of Europe. They are separated from the Continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. On the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. They consist of two large islands — Great Britain and Ireland — and a great number of small islands lying principally off the north and the west of Scotland. Great Britain consists of England, Wales, and Scotland. It is 600 miles long from north to south, and varies from 30 to 300 miles in breadth. It is the largest island in Europe, and ranks as seventh among the islands of the globe. England and Wales form the southern part of the island of Great Britain. (See Book III.) SCOTLAND (p. 240). POSITION, ETC.— Scotland forms the northern part of the island of Great Britain. NAME.— At one time Caledonia. Then from the Scots it came to be called Scotland. BOUNDARIES. — East: North Sea. North : Atlantic Ocean. West : At- lantic Ocean. South : Solway Firth> Irish Sea, Tweed, and Cheviot Hills. EXTENT.— Length, about 288 miles. Breadth, about 150 miles. The nar- rowest part is about 30 miles. COAST. — Very rocky and broken on the north and west. POPULATION.— Over 4,470,000. CAPES.— On the north : Dun-cans-by 270 REVISION LESSONS. Head, Dun-net Head, Cape Wrath. On the west: Ard-na-miir-chan Point, Mull of Can-tire'. On the south : Mull of Gal-lo-way. On the east : Tar- bat Ness, Kin-naird' Head, Buch-an Ness, Fife Ness, St. Abb's Head. OPENINGS.— On the north : Pent-land Firth. On the west: The Minch, Loch Long, Loch Lin-nhe, North Channel, Firth of Clyde, Loch Fyne. On the south : Luce Bay, Wig-town Bay, Sol-way Firth. On the east : Dor-noch Firth, Mor-ay Firth, Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth. ISLANDS. — On the north: Ork-ney Islands, Shet-land Islands. On the west : Bute, Ar-ran (Firth of Clyde). Heb-ri-des or Western Islands : Outer Hebrides or Long Island— largest island Lew-is ; Inner Hebrides, among whichare Skye, Mull.Staf-fafFingal's Cave), I-O-na (landing-place of St. Columba), Ju-ra, Isl-ay. MOUNTAINS.— Highlands : Gram-pi-an Mountains, with Ben Ne-vis (4,406 feet), the highest mountain in the British Isles ; Ben Mac-dhu-i,andBen Lo-mond. Southern Uplands consist of Lam-mer-muir' Hills, Pent^land Hills, and Che-vi-ot Hills between England and Scotland. RIVERS. —In the north— to Moray Firth : Find-horn, Spey. In the east— to North Sea : Don, Dee, Tay, Forth, Tweed. In the south— to Sol- way Firth : Nith, Dee. In the west —to Firth of Clyde : Clyde. LAKES. — In the north : Loch Shin, Loch Ma-ree'. In the middle : Loch Tay, Loch Kat-rine, Loch Lo-mond, Loch Awe. CHIEF TO WNS.—Ed-in-burgh (316,000), the capital of Scotland, has a castle on a high rock ; Holyrood Palace, the ancient residence of the Scottish kings ; a university and many famous schools; has also many printing works and breweries. Glas-gow (736,000), on the Clyde, is the largest city and the chief seaport of Scotland. It has extensive shipbuilding yards, where the largest vessels are built. Its manufactures are numerous, such as cotton, iron, glass, chemicals, etc. It lias also a univei-sity and a cathe- dral. Dun-dee' (160,000), a seaport on the Firth of Tay, and the chief seat of the linen and jute. manufac- ture, is the third town in Scotland. Ab-er-deen' (143,000), at the mouth of the Don and the Dee, the fourth seaport in Scotland, has granite works. It has a university and a cathedral. Leith (76,000), on the Firth of Forth, is the port of Edin- burgh, and the second seaport in Scotland. Pais-ley (79,000), on the Cart, makes thread, silk-cotton, en- gines, and iron ships. Green-ock (67,000), on the Firth of Clyde, is the third seaport in Scotland. Perth (32,000), "The Fair Cit3%" on the Tay, was once the capital. Dyeing is one of the chief industries. In-ver- ness', on the Ness, is the capital of the Highlands. Near it is Culloden, where Prince Charles Edward Stuart was defeated (1746). Ar-broath', on the North Sea, makes linen and jute goods, and has the ruins of an abbey. Kirk-cal-dy, on the Firth of Forth, manufactures linoleum. Dun- ferm-line makes fine linen. Stir-ling, on the Forth, has an old roj'al castle on a high rock. In and around it are many places of historical interest. Ham-il-ton, on the Clyde, has coal and iron mines near it. Coat-bridge' and Air-drie (Lanarkshire) have iron works. Haw-ick, on the Teviot, manufactures woollens and tweeds. Ayr, at the mouth of the river Ayr, exports coal. Kil-mar-nock (Ayr- shire) makes carpets and other wool- REVISION LESSONS. 271 len goods. Wick, on the east coast, is the centre of the northern herring fishery. Pe-ter-head' and Fra-ser- burgh, on the North Sea, have herring fisheries. INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, ETC.— Min- erals— Coal, iron, lead, slate, marble, granite, paving-stones, buildingstone. Manufactures — Iron-smelting and machinerjr, shipbuilding, cotton, wool- lens, linen and jute, paper, carpets, sugar-refining, floorcloth, paraffin. EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.— The cxjMvts of Scotland are chiefly manufactured goods and minerals — cotton goods, vv'oollen goods, linen, iron and steel goods, machinery, and coal. The imports are mainly raw materials for manufacture, and sugar, tea, coffee, corn, wine, and precious metals. AGRICULTURE is the industry for which Scotland is chiefly noted. FISHERIES.— The herring fishery is the most valuable. Large quantities of cod, haddock, and turbot are also taken, and salmon in the rivers. GOVERNMENT.— Up to 1603 Scotland formed a separate and independent kingdom. At that time James the Sixth of Scotland inherited the Eng- lish throne, and Scotland and Eng- land became one kingdom. Great Britain, each country retaining its own Parliament. In 1707 the Parlia- ment of Scotland was abolished, and Scottish representatives sat in the English Parliament, which then be- came the Parliament of Great Britain. Scotland is represented in Parliament by 16 Peers and 72 members of the House of Commons. IRELAND. POSITION.— Ireland is west of Great Britain, and forms part of the United Kingdom. NAME. — Derived from Eri, Erin, or lernc, the ancient name of the country. BOUNDARIES.— North, west, south: Atlantic Ocean. East : North Chan- nel, Irish Sea, St. George's Channel. EXTENT.— Length, 250 miles. Breadth, 180 miles. Coast, 2,000 miles ; very rocky and much broken on west and south-west. POPULATION. —4,450,000. CAPES.— On the north : Mal-in Head, Fair Head. On the east : Howth Head, Wick-low Head. On the south : Cam-sore Point, Cape Clear, Miz-en Head. On the west : Dun-more' Head, Loop Head, Slyne Head, Ach-ill Head. ISLANDS.— On the north : Rath^Iin Island. On the west : Ach-ill Island, Clare Island, Val-en-ti-a Island. OPENINGS.— On the east: Bel-fast' Lough, Dublin Bay, Wex-ford Har- bour. On the south : Wa-ter-ford Harbour, Cork Harbour. On the west : Ban-try Bay, Ken-mare' Bay, Din-gle Bay, and Tra-lee' Bay, Mouth of the Shan-non, Gal-way Bay, Clew Bay. On tlie north : Lough Swil-ly, Lough Foyle, North Channel, MOUNTAINS.— In Ulster : Don-e-gal Mountains, Mourne Mountains. In Connaught : Con-ne-ma-ra Moun- tains. In Leinster : Wicklow Moun- tains, Slieve Bloom Mountains. In Munster: Mac-gil-li-cud-dy Reeks {Cam Tual, 3,400 feet). RIVERS.— Flowing north : Foyle, Bann. Flowing east: Boyne, Lif-fey. Flow- ing south : Bar-row, Suir, Black- wa-ter, Lee, Ban-don. Flowing west : Shan-non (254 miles, longest river). LAKES.— Lough Neagh (in the course of the Bann, largest lake in British Isles), Lough Erne ; Loughs Al-len, Ree, Derg (in the course of the Shan- non) ; Loughs Mask, Corrib, Conn (in Connemara) ; Lakes of Kil-Iar-ney (in the south-west). 272 REVISION LESSONS. DIVISIONS.— Ireland is divided into four provinces : Ulster (north), Con- nauglit (west), Leinster (south-east), and Munster (south-west). CHIEF TOWNS.— Dublin (289,000), on both banks of the Liffej', is the capital and chief seaport of Ireland, and has a university. Brewing and distilling are important industries. Belfast (349,000), on Belfast Lough, the largest city in Ireland, is the centre of the linen trade, and has large engineering and shipbuilding works. Cork (76,000), on the Lee, the third city in Ireland, and second seaport, exports grain, cattle, dairy produce, and provisions. Limerick (38,000), on the Shannon, the fourth city, has a great trade in bacon and agricultural produce. Londonderry (39,000), on the Foyle, is a seaport, with great colonial trade. Waterford (26,000), on the Suir, exports pro- visions to England. Galway, on Gal- way Bay, is a fishery centre, and a seaport with American trade. Sligo, on Sligo Bay, exports cattle, and is a fishing centre. Newry, on the Newry, exports cattle to Glasgow and Liverpool. Dundalk, on Dundalk Bay, has salt works and distilleries. Drogheda, on the Boyne, exports pro- visions, etc. Near it was fought the Battle of the Boyne, in 1690. Wex- ford, on Wexford Harbour, exports provisions and live stock. Kilkenny, on the Nore, is the inland capital of Ireland. It has marble works. COMMERCE, INDUSTRIES, ETC.— Min- erals— Lead, copper, marble, granite, little coal and iron. Manufactures- Linen, woollens, cotton, silk (poplins), ships, lace, spirits, stout, etc. EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.— The out- side trade of Ireland is carried on chiefly with England and Scotland. The chief exports are linen and agri- cultural produce. The chief imports are coal, manufactured goods, and colonial produce. AGRICULTURE. — Stock -rearing and dairy - farming are more extensively followed than agriculture. Potatoes are largel5'gTown,also grain (especially oats) and flax chiefly in the north. GOVERNMENT.— From 1782 to 1801 Ire- land had a Parliament of its own. In 1801 this Parliament was united with that of Great Britain. At present Ireland is represented in Parliament Ijy 28 Peers and 103 members of the House of Commons. THE END. 5 _5? o t